That One Little Word
by CeliaEquus
Summary: After Lord Voldemort falls through the veil at the Ministry, everyone has to band together to stop him from returning... again. SB/HG pairing. Only own story, not characters.
1. Duel in the Department

"Duel in the Department"

It was a red flash from Bellatrix Lestrange's wand that sent Sirius Black falling back towards the veil. A silent Stunning charm. Everyone stopped duelling to watch.

"ACCIO!"

With a jerk, Sirius was suddenly propelled through the air towards Harry Potter, who had instinctively used a Summoning charm. He and Remus Lupin grabbed Sirius' arms to stop him from falling to the ground. With a quick "Enervate" from Remus, the man who had almost died was soon battling once again.

* * *

"Bloody, bloody, bloody nuisance," Severus Snape muttered, glaring at the fireplace. For the past he-didn't-know-how-long, he had been thrusting his head into green flames to warn every member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Honestly. The words "there's-battle-in-the-Department-of-Mysteries-get-there-now" had really lost their meaning. He was beginning to feel like a robot, only with pain.

Groaning, Severus arched back a bit, rubbing his back. He would really need some Backache Potion after this.

If only he could help! But Severus knew that the only thing he could do was warn everyone that he could, and hope that they got there in time. As soon as he was done, he'd be out of there and to the Ministry of Magic like a shot.

"Professor!" He could hear the whining outside, and prayed silently that the Umbridge woman had been taken care of. Goodness knows what was taking Potter and Co. so long; was it too much to hope for that something dreadful had happened to them?

"Brats," he said, a bit louder than he had intended. Whether he was referring to 'Dumbledore's Army' or to the whinging Slytherins outside, who had been on the receiving end of an Incarcerus charm, he wasn't sure.

With a thrust of his hand, another lot of Floo Powder was in the fireplace, as he bent down with a sigh to warn yet another member of the Order.

* * *

The battle in the Department of Mysteries was still raging. More people joined in the battle, people from the Order of the Phoenix.

Tom Riddle was at the top of the staircase. Ah, there was Harry Potter. Lord Voldemort was pleased to see that his plan had worked so well. He frowned slightly when he noticed that his Death Eaters were increasingly outnumbered.

It was now or never. He would have to battle Potter.

The room felt colder the moment he started his descent. Harry glanced up at the same time as his opponent, and they both froze at the sight of the Dark Lord making his way down the stairs.

"Let me deal with him," he said, a slight hiss in his voice. While the Death Eater was distracted, Harry pulled himself together once more, and Stunned him.

"Master!" Bellatrix cried out. "Give up now, Mudblood," she said to Hermione, who was sending spell after spell to her.

"Never," Hermione murmured, and she used the momentary distraction of the Dark Lord to stun Bellatrix, who flew through the air and rolled down the stairs on the other side of the dais.

"Not clever, Miss Granger," Voldemort said, raising his wand.

"Hermione! Swap!" Harry called, who had found another Death Eater to battle. He leapt in front of his friend, and faced his greatest enemy.

By now, there were so few Death Eaters left standing, that more attention could be placed on the personal battle that was about to take place. The duel that had to happen, yet only one person _knew_ had to happen.

And that one person was Albus Dumbledore.

Harry and Tom were circling slightly, facing off. Dumbledore, who had entered the room only two minutes after Voldemort had, watched calmly. With a careless flick of his wand, he hexed another Death Eater.

He heard running, and looked behind him. It was another member of the Order, panting slightly.

"Ran into trouble outside, but it's sorted now," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper when he saw what was happening.

"You're not going to win this thing," Harry said to Voldemort. "Look around you. Not exactly what I would call loyal followers. Here I was thinking you had more than this."

"They'll come soon," Voldemort hissed. "And in case you hadn't noticed, your friends here are getting tired, are they not?"

"Once you're gone, they won't have anyone to follow," Harry said reasonably. "Give it up, Tom."

Voldemort frowned at the name. He raised his wand, ready to kill Harry.

_Block your mind_, he heard Dumbledore say in his head.

"Avada…" Voldemort said, savouring the prospect of killing Harry Potter. It would be his downfall.

"Stupefy!" Harry bellowed, and Voldemort was blasted backwards, through the veil.

The fate that Sirius Black would have faced if not for that one little word—Accio.

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Okay, so this is my first fan fiction, and I'm looking forward to any feedback. I've got some ideas for what I'll do in upcoming chapters. But I'm open to group involvement. Please let me know any relationships, scenes, etc that you'd like to see in this fic. I'm creative enough; I'll find a way to include things. Of course, if there are conflicting relationships, I'll just have to choose whoever can put forward the best argument.

**I'll only try to include suggestions from people who ask nicely, naturally.**

…"**Please" will do.**


	2. Battle Blues

"Battle Blues"

"Is he dead?"

Hermione broke the silence that had descended on the room as Lord Voldemort fell through the mysterious veil. No one answered at first. Finally, someone came running into the room.

"What the hell happened here?" Cornelius Fudge asked, storming down the stairs. "What is going… on…" He stared, mouth open, at the scene before him. Harry was staring at the veil, there were Death Eaters littering the floor, some with open wounds, some just Stunned, others hexed in different ways.

"And what are… what are… what…"

"What am I doing here?" Dumbledore supplied. Fudge nodded dumbly. "Well, I simply got a message about what was happening, and turned up. Nothing very complicated, Cornelius."

"Uh… right," Fudge said, struggling to grasp what Dumbledore had said. His eyes latched onto Sirius Black.

"Black!" he said, pointing a shaking finger. "He's a wanted criminal! Someone get the Aurors here. Get the Dementors."

"You failed to notice, Minister," Harry said, his eyes still on the veil, "but there are Aurors here already. Lord Voldemort," and Fudge flinched at the name, "is no more. Am I right, Professor?" he asked, finally turning to Dumbledore.

"Ah, well, Harry," he said. "I'm not entirely sure. That is where Miss Granger comes in."

"Me?" Hermione asked, finally speaking since her original question. "What do you mean, Professor?"

"You have incredible powers of research," Dumbledore said simply. "We shall have to find out what—if anything—this veil does. I'm afraid, my dear, that I'm not entirely omniscient." And he chuckled. It was a strange sound to hear in the room.

"Well… I mean… well…" Fudge stopped. "Um…"

Ginny interrupted him.

"If he's dead," she said, "does that mean that it's really… all over?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Miss Weasley," Alastor Moody said. "If Dumbledore's suspicions are correct…"

"But that can wait," Dumbledore said. "Minister, I believe that we have some prisoners here. They will, indeed, need to be questioned before being transferred to Azkaban, but in the meantime…"

"Cer… certainly, Dumbledore, I mean, Albus, I mean…"

"After you, Minister," Kingsley Shacklebolt said, indicating the stairs to Fudge, who again nodded silently, as they began the long process of imprisoning the Death Eaters.

* * *

In the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic were journalists and photographers. They kept trying to get interviews, and were constantly frustrated. Luna used a spell that she learned from her father. It acted like a shield charm. Whoever tried to take notes would have their quill explode in their hand, spattering them with ink. And whoever tried to take a photograph would see nothing in the pictures but the words "Fooled you!"

Harry later asked her for the words of the spell. But right then, he was busy holding onto Sirius.

"I thought I was about to lose you," Harry said. With his head pressed against his godfather's chest, the only one who could hear what he said was Sirius. He laughed. The bark startled everyone.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, mate," he told his godson.

"I'm sorry, but the students must now return to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said; and, very reluctantly, each of the present members of Dumbledore's Army got into the fire grates, and flooed back to Hogwarts.

* * *

"Thank you for the news," Severus said. He had reconnected all of the fireplaces in Hogwarts to the Floo Network, and the errant students—Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood—were all back, and under his care.

"Now," he said, as he whipped around to look at them, after Dumbledore's head had retracted from the fireplace. "Explain yourselves."

"Well," Harry began to say, but Hermione stepped forward.

"We now know, Professor, that Lord… Lord Voldemort was manipulating Harry's mind, and we're all so very grateful for your invaluable help tonight," she said, her hands fidgeting a bit. The glare that Severus gave her for her forwardness was hardly helping.

"What is your excuse for running off tonight?" he asked.

"I… we…" Hermione was at a loss for words, which amused Severus no end. However, being Severus Snape, he made a concerted effort not to show his amusement.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet. Hermione's knees trembled, but she looked him in the eyes.

"We were… we were worried about Sirius," she said, just as quietly. "Harry thought he was in danger."

"With all respect, sir," Harry said, stepping forward as well. "Hermione _did_ say that it might not have been true."

"A rare insightfulness for a Gryffindor," Severus said, slowly tearing his gaze away from Hermione to Harry. It had the desired effect. Everyone in the room was now terrified.

"Hermione is nothing if not rare," Neville spoke up, and Severus raised an eyebrow at the usually quiet boy.

"What about Professor Umbridge?" Severus asked.

"She's… um… with the," but Hermione stopped abruptly.

"With the _what_, Miss Granger?" Severus said.

"With the… centaurs," she finally squeaked. "She was insulting them, and they carried her off… somewhere."

"I see," Severus said, as he straightened his back. The pain of having been bent over the fireplace for all that time was still there.

"I didn't know what else to do!" Hermione said, frazzled.

"She did the right thing," Luna said, no longer in a dreamy state. "Though I won't begin to go into what centaurs do to their victims."

"Thank you, Miss Lovegood," Severus said, and he gave the group one of his famous sneers.

"Is that all, Professor?" Ron asked. "Only we've been out for so long tonight, that we're really hungry, and…"

"Hungry? 'We're' hungry, Ron?" Ginny asked, rounding on her brother. "Honestly! Don't you think this is far more serious?"

Severus was pinching the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. He'd need a lot of pain potions that night.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow—_early_, tomorrow. Understand?" he asked, making the group jump. "Say… six o'clock?"

"Six o'clock?" Ron exclaimed. "But, sir, that's only a few hours away." The students all held their breath at this ill-advised outburst. Severus grinned inwardly, and leaned over to Ron.

"Fine then, Mister Weasley," he whispered. "Have it your way. Five fifty-nine, on the dot. Then you can get back to sleep afterwards just that bit earlier. Unless, of course, Professor Dumbledore cares to see you, in which case I pity him. Now go."

As they left, Severus could have sworn he heard Neville mutter something about "after all we've done tonight", but his ears could have been playing tricks on him. Finally, he allowed himself a smile.

**

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Forgot to put a disclaimer in the previous chapter, so here it is: I don't own any part of Harry Potter, except certain bits of merchandise and, of course, books. Not making any money out of them, but meh.

**Oh, and cheers for the feedback I've received so far. I was—quite literally—bouncing around the house last night in delight. Woo hoo!**

**Sorry that I may not post very often in the coming weeks. In fact, months. Not long after I finish all my uni assessment, we leave for London. But… I'll be taking my USBs and ideas with me. Mwa-ha-ha!**


	3. Aftermath and Azkaban

"Aftermath and Azkaban"

Everybody assumed that the Malfoy fortune would go to Draco, being the next male in line. Narcissa would just have to deal—that was the general thought. But, due to governmental red tape, there were problems with the arrangement.

Lucius Malfoy was to go to Azkaban; he was one of the Death Eaters caught at the Ministry, and the Dark Mark on his arm sealed his fate. Azkaban.

Sympathisers in the Ministry were now worried; after having expressed their support privately to one another, and to others 'unofficially', they would have to disappear for awhile.

Another problem was the leftover Death Eaters, the ones who hadn't been able to get to the Department of Mysteries, or who had turned up too late.

The sympathisers and remaining Death Eaters went on the run—to goodness knows where.

* * *

There were trials to be held. Dumbledore pulled some strings, and Sirius Black was to have a hearing. Everyone knew that he would be cleared of all charges, with the testimony of so many members of the Order. Including Severus Snape.

Why Severus gave testimony in Sirius' favour was unknown… then. What was also unknown at that point was whether or not he could drop his cover. All Dumbledore would say was for people to wait. Questions _would_ be answered.

* * *

When Lucius Malfoy told the press that he would be naming names, on the proviso that his sentence in Azkaban would be reduced, Draco Malfoy went missing.

He turned up three days later. Dead.

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Thank you all for your reviews so far. I'm sorry that this has been knocked up so quickly, but I've been out most of the day, and we're going to

_**Rigoletto**_** at QPAC tonight, so can't hang around.**

**Tentrees—Thank you for your input/suggestions. You've given me great ideas, and now that the whole story is plotted out, I might be able to have it all written and posted before we leave for London next month.**

**DeliaDee—Sirius and Hermione **_**will**_** indeed get together in the story. I'll have to change the rating because of that.**

**To everyone else—keep reading! I love you all!**


	4. Gabbing in the Great Hall

"Gabbing in the Great Hall"

Over breakfast, owls bombarded the students with letters from parents. It was the first day of term, the night after Draco Malfoy died. No one yet knew, except Dumbledore, who was waiting for the meal to end before making an announcement.

Dinner the night before had been interesting. A Professor Slughorn had been introduced as the new Potions Master, and Severus was announced as the new DADA teacher.

"So _that's_ why," Hermione whispered to the others at the time.

"Why what?" Ron asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Professor Dumbledore must have tempted Professor Snape with the position, so that he'd give testimony at Sirius' trial."

"Knew he wouldn't do it for nothing," Harry muttered, and Hermione shushed him.

On the first morning, however, no one was expecting any big announcement—none at all, really. Last night's speech had been fairly conclusive.

"Malfoy must have gone into hiding," Ron said, and they all looked over at the Slytherin's table. They hadn't noticed the night before that he wasn't there. In fact, they were quite amazed that Ron was so observant.

"Oh, good," Hermione said when a second owl dropped a letter into her hands. She pushed aside _The Daily Prophet_ in favour of reading the letter.

"Hermione," Ron said, watching this. "What's so important that you'd ignore the news?"

"I'm not ignoring the news, Ron," she said. "I just want to read this letter from Mum."

"That's not about… is it?" Harry asked. They looked at him.

"What, Harry?" Hermione asked. Ginny looked up as well.

"Oh, do you mean about _Days of Our Lives_, Harry?" she asked, and Harry nodded.

"Yes, that's what I meant," he said, returning to his breakfast.

"Hey, Hermione," Neville said, leaning across the table and poking at the front page of his copy of the _Prophet_. "Did you see this? About Lucius Malfoy?"

"Still saying that he'll tell all?" Harry asked, as Hermione studiously ignored them, still reading the letter from her mother.

"I can't help it," she murmured. "It's so addictive. One episode and I was hooked."

"We've got to keep you away from Muggle television, Hermione," Ron said.

"Well, Stefano Dimera's kind of like the Dark Lord," Hermione said. "He keeps coming back to life. Now, if they just cut off Stefano's head, and dismembered him—he couldn't come back to life, then, could he?"

"Is he the baddie?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded, and she folded up the letter, now finished, and reached for the newspaper.

An anguished scream came from the Slytherin table, and everyone's heads and bodies swivelled around. Pansy Parkinson was crying hysterically, and her friends were trying to get her under control. They shot dirty looks at everyone who was watching.

Dumbledore took this as his cue, and he stood up.

"Could someone please take Miss Parkinson to the hospital wing?" he asked, and once Pansy was gone, he turned to face the entire student body, and clear his throat. "I am afraid that I have some terrible news for you. Draco Malfoy, who would have been in his sixth year at Hogwarts, was murdered late last night."

Shocked whispers rocked the hall. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville all looked at each other, and down at the front of the newspaper.

"It's revenge," Hermione murmured. "It's got to be revenge."

"On a lighter note," Dumbledore said, and everyone calmed down, and turned to him. "I have invited two men to act as extra guards at Hogwarts, and also do some important research which involves using the school library. One of them you know," he said, and the door behind the staff table opened. "Remus Lupin, our former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," but part of what he said was drowned out with the cheers from the students who liked the quiet man. He sat at the staff table.

Dumbledore waited until the cheers had died down. "The man who shall be aiding him is someone very few of you have met, but you will have all heard of him." The subject of his speech stepped through the door, and the hall was silent. "Sirius Black."

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Hi, there! Yes, I'm ending this chapter here. I don't know how many chapters this story will take, so I may do some 'broadcasting' from London. Oi. Shall be there in less than four weeks' time.

**Anyhow, now that the story's all set out, I don't need any more suggestions for scenes or such. Just continue reading, leave feedback/reviews if you like, and—above all—enjoy! **


	5. Hunting for Horcruxes

"Hunting for Horcruxes"

Talking suddenly erupted when it sunk in: a man cleared of multiple murders was going to be in the same building in them, staying at Hogwarts. More than a few people looked around at Harry, as by now everyone in the wizarding world knew that Sirius Black was Harry Potter's godfather.

"Isn't this great, Hermione?" Ginny asked, leaning over to her friend. "Remus and Sirius will be here. We can take them with us to Hogsmeade. This'll be so much fun!"

Hermione nodded, unable to speak. She liked both of the men very much, Remus because he was so kind, and Sirius because… well, because she liked him. In fact, more than liked him. Perhaps it was his heroics at the ministry. Maybe it was because he had finally shaved, had his hair cut, and filled out a bit. Either way, she knew this would make things just that bit more complicated for her. She sighed, but no one noticed.

* * *

Sirius sat at the staff table next to Remus, smirking a bit at the scandal that he seemed to have caused. Well, Dumbledore had caused it, actually. But never mind.

"I wonder what Hermione's thinking," Remus said, and Sirius turned his head slightly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just wondered," Remus said. "None of them knew about this."

"Well, they'll know more after breakfast," Sirius said, suddenly famished. Soon, he and Remus were both tucking in them. Mrs. Weasley always declared that they didn't eat enough, and were wasting away. They had been very grateful for her cooking, but it was wonderful to be able to eat without being observed very, very carefully.

Before anyone could leave the hall at the end of breakfast, Dumbledore stood up, and there was silence. Surely there were no more surprises? Pansy still hadn't returned after getting the news about her boyfriend's death.

"I would like to see Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood in my office after they have finished their meal," he said.

The students looked at one another, suddenly very curious, and _very_ nervous. The headmaster hadn't yet spoken to them about the night at the Ministry. They had been able to sleep in after they had served their time with Professor Snape. Hermione had put a Silencing Charm on Ron beforehand, in case he spoke out of turn and earned them a worse punishment. While Ron had felt it unnecessary, the others had all agreed with Hermione.

* * *

Once they reached Dumbledore's office, they waited, while Ginny and Neville tried different passwords.

"Ah, good," Dumbledore said, startling them as he walked up with Sirius, Remus, and Professor McGonagall. "You're here. Tim Tams," he said to the gargoyle, which moved aside revealing the winding staircase. They all went upstairs and into his office.

"Sir, what are Tim Tams?" Ron asked before Dumbledore could sit down. The headmaster chuckled, his eyes twinkling.

"A Tim Tam is a wonderful chocolate biscuit," he said. "I discovered them when I went to Australia for my holiday."

"Oh, so that's why we haven't seen you," Ginny said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said.

"Don't you think you should tell them, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Quite right, Minerva," he said. "Now, I've called you all here for a very special reason. As you are aware, Lord Voldemort is now dead, having fallen behind the veil in the Department of Mysteries."

"With all respect, sir," Harry said, "we _were_ there."

"I know that, Harry," Dumbledore said, and Harry looked down, blushing.

"I'm here now, Headmaster," said a voice from behind the group, and they all turned to see Professor Snape standing there.

"When did_ he_ get here?" Ron whispered to Hermione. She glared at Ron, and he shut up.

"For your information, Mr. Weasley," Severus said, and Ron gulped. "I had to retrieve something from my rooms before I could come here. Something I wouldn't risk bringing into the Great Hall during breakfast. Does that," he said, increasing his glare, "answer your question?"

"May we please get on?" Sirius asked, sounding bored. "And no, Sni-Severus. That didn't answer Ron's question. But it's all irrelevant, isn't it?"

"We're here for research," Remus finally said, and the others sighed in relief. The tension left the room. "Though perhaps Professor Dumbledore can explain better than I?" Dumbledore nodded.

"As I was saying, Lord Voldemort fell through the veil, and he is now temporarily dead," he told the students.

"Temporarily?" Neville said, nervous. "How can someone be _temporarily_ dead?"

"Presumably in the same way someone can be _nearly_ headless," Severus said, and Hermione blushed, unaware that he had heard her say that in her first year. The truth was, he had heard it from the Bloody Baron, who had it from Nearly-Headless Nick. He had always hoped the day might come where he could use it against her.

"I've heard of temporary death," Hermione said.

"Yeah; Voldemort seems to suffer from it quite a bit," Harry said bitterly.

"It takes different forms," Hermione continued, ignoring him. "Sometimes the body is dead or missing, but the spirit lives. In some cases, the spirit is dead, and the body alive, but uninhabited. There have been cases where the two have been fused together… somehow. Are you saying that his spirit is still alive somewhere, sir?" she asked the headmaster. Dumbledore shook his head.

"Both his spirit and body are dead behind the veil," he said. "Perhaps I had better go from the beginning. When Sirius and Remus were going through the things in the attic at Grimmauld Place, they came across a book in an old language that very few people know. However, they saw an illustration in the book of the veil at the Ministry, and brought the book to me."

"This book," Severus said, holding up the volume in his hand. Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect of a book she had never read.

"Why's he got it?" Harry asked.

"Professor Snape is the only one we know who can read it," Dumbledore explained, his eyes narrowing slightly at Harry's disrespectful tone.

"Unfortunately," Severus said, "while I've read the entire book, there is nothing to suggest how a person can be brought back from beyond the veil."

"Unfortunately?" Ron cried. "He's dead! Gone! And you're _unhappy_ about that?"

"Unfortunate," Severus said, his eyes flashing dangerously, "because the book says that there _is_ a way, but unless we know how, we cannot prevent it from occurring. Nor can we destroy the veil without the right book."

"How can you destroy a book with a veil?" Neville asked, confused.

"I think he means that there's a book that says how to destroy it, but he doesn't have that book," Luna said, speaking for the first time.

"Oh," Neville said, feeling stupid.

"What book is it?" Hermione asked.

"There is only one book where it tells both how to bring someone back, and how to destroy the veil," Severus said, opening to the page with the veil. He showed the picture to Hermione. She studied the page. "This book refers to it as…"

"_Secrets of Deep Magick_," she murmured, tracing the words with her finger. Severus was shocked. So was everyone else. Hermione looked up at them. "What? How was I supposed to know it was in a Goidelic language?" she asked.

"You know…" Severus started to ask. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. I should have known. You really _are_ a know-it-all."

"Leave her alone!" Sirius said, jumping to Hermione's defence. She blushed at his reaction.

"I assure you, Black, that I was only meaning to compliment her," Severus said. That was more of a surprise than anything else. Once everyone had recovered, Dumbledore chuckled.

"I must say, Miss Granger," he said, wiping a tear away, "you amaze me more and more every day."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said, embarrassed from all the attention.

"She definitely _will_ be an asset for our research," Remus said.

"We need your help to find anything we can on the veil, and on finding the book," Sirius told Hermione. "You girls can help, too, whenever you can. Of course, you're studying for your O.W.L.s, so we can't expect too much. We wouldn't expect too much."

"We'll be happy to help," Ginny said, and Luna nodded, more animated than usual.

"What about us?" Neville asked. Dumbledore turned to the three boys.

"I have a very important task to set for you, and I'm afraid it will take you away from Hogwarts," he said. "If you're willing to accept the assignment, that is."

"Of course, sir," Harry said, and Ron nodded. Neville thought for a split second, and then nodded as well.

"What do we do, Professor?" he asked, and Dumbledore beamed. When it looked like Hermione might insist on joining in on whatever they were to do, Severus distracted her with the book. Luna and Ginny listened, interested.

"Do any of you know what a horcrux is?" he asked. Hermione stopped reading, snapping her head around.

"Isn't that where someone embodies part of their soul in an object?" she asked, frowning.

"Yes, indeed, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "When a person uses the Killing Curse, it tears their soul apart. With the right magic, a wizard can, as Miss Granger said, embody that part of their soul in an object nearby. This will make them immortal, while the horcrux remains intact."

"You think Voldemort's got a horcrux out there?" Harry asked quietly.

"I think he may have more than one," Dumbledore confessed.

"How… how many?" Ron asked. Dumbledore paused.

"Tell me, what's a magical number?" he said.

"Seven in the most magical number," Luna said. "For instance, did you know that there are seven varieties of…"

"Thank you, Miss Lovegood," Dumbledore said, holding up a hand politely. The girl stopped before she could spout out information about a supposed species of magical creature.

"Seven horcruxes?" Harry repeated.

"He's killed seven times?" Ginny asked.

"He's killed many more times than that, Miss Weasley," Severus said quietly. The girl shivered in fright.

"How can someone tear their soul apart so many times?" Hermione said.

"He's a monster, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall reminded her. "He's barely human as it is. Having a fractured soul means nothing to him."

"I see," Hermione said. She paused to think. "Then… you're sending them to find and destroy the horcruxes?" she asked Dumbledore, tilting her chin up. "That's why you're sending them away?"

"It has to be done, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said gently. "Until all the horcruxes are destroyed, he can never truly be dead."

"Unless he can feel remorse," Hermione said stiffly.

"Fat bloody chance," Ron said. Hermione glared at him.

"So, once again, the men are trying to protect the helpless female," she said, shoving the book back to Severus. "Once again, I have to stay put and twiddle my thumbs, and hope to _hell_ that they'll come back in one piece. Or come back at all!"

She turned and ran out the door. They heard her feet clattering down the staircase, soon overshadowed by another pair of feet, racing after her. Sirius followed her out past the gargoyle.

* * *

"Hermione!" he called. She didn't stop. "Hermione!"

She tripped over, the tears in her eyes making it difficult to see straight. She sobbed as she hit the ground, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Sirius dropped the ground in front of her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her body flinched at the contact.

"Hermione," he said gently, and she looked up at him, trying to focus through the tears. "Hermione, darling, listen." She gulped when he called her 'darling', her stomach fluttering. "Dumbledore would have sent you, but you're needed here. Really. None of us knew you could read any ancient languages like that, sure, but we knew that you're _brilliant_ at research. We need you here," he repeated.

"I… I never get to share the… the adventures," she said, her voice catching on the words.

"That's not what I hear," Sirius said, smirking. Hermione smiled a little.

"What I mean is, they're always trying to protect me," she said.

"That's because they _love_ you," Sirius said, shaking her shoulders slightly. "They love you just like a sister."

Do _you_ love me? Hermione wanted to ask. But she didn't.

"I think… I worry about them, perhaps too much," she admitted. "I guess… I guess I'd better go and apologise, hadn't I?"

"No," Sirius said. "I'll explain to them."

"Will you tell them to stop worrying about me?" she asked, grinning.

"I'll tell them whatever you want, sweetie," he said, grasping the sides of her head, and kissing her forehead. Hermione repressed a gasp. If she'd only moved her head up, maybe he would have got her lips instead…

No! she thought. Don't think that. He's Harry's godfather.

And he'll be living at Hogwarts.

Oh dear.

"Better now?" Sirius asked, not noticing her internal struggle.

"I… I think I'll go to bed now. Night, Sirius!" she said. Grabbing her things, she sprinted off to the Gryffindor common room, leaving behind a very confused Sirius, still kneeling on the floor.

Maybe I should have hugged her, too, he thought, as he stood up and went back to Dumbledore's office.

**

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Another chapter, another… well, chapter. Again—I know, I keep forgetting—the disclaimer. I don't own any of the characters, and I'm making no money from writing this fanfic. It sure is boosting my self-confidence with the reviews, though. Keep `em comin', folks. Keep `em comin'!


	6. The Refugee and the Runaway

"The Refugee and The Runaway"

Hermione's reaction was understandable. Everyone thought so; at least, they did once Sirius explained. But Draco Malfoy's death had caused a problem, and they needed to discuss it.

"Shall I get Hermione?" Ginny asked Dumbledore. The headmaster shook his head.

"You may tell her later," he said. "I realise that the shock of Draco Malfoy's death hasn't had time to set in." He looked at the students, hoping to see pity, but saw none. He sighed inwardly, and continued. "The problem is, he isn't the only target now."

"Narcissa Malfoy," Harry said, and Dumbledore nodded.

"Which is why," he said, "I have invited her to stay here at Hogwarts."

"What?" the students cried. Dumbledore, Professors McGonagall and Snape, and Remus all frowned at them. Sirius just snorted.

"Well, you can't blame them, can you?" he said to the adults. "She's the mother of someone who had taunted them all these years, especially Hermione. Her sister nearly killed me, not to mention…" He stopped, when he realised that he was about to mention Neville's parents. "Uh, not to mention that she's an insane… witch."

"Be that as it may, Sirius," Dumbledore said, frowning at him over his glasses, "she is still in need of our help. She wouldn't be in danger if she was on their side. And I do believe that she _is_ in danger."

"Well, just where is she supposed to stay?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"She can stay in the guest quarters," Dumbledore told her. "I've put up protective charms, and indeed, I expect her here any moment…"

He was interrupted by the green flames that sprang up in the fireplace. Narcissa Malfoy stepped out, and froze when she saw the various looks, mostly hostile, from the people standing in front of the headmaster's desk.

"Maybe I should…" she began, starting to turn back to the fireplace, but Dumbledore raised a hand.

"No, Narcissa," he said gently. "They will come around."

"I doubt that," she said, quailing slightly from the hateful tension.

"Please remember," Dumbledore said to everyone else, "that Mrs. Malfoy has just lost her only son, and her husband is in Azkaban. In fact, almost everyone she knows is either in Azkaban, is on the run… or is dead." There was silence, and the tension started to disappear somewhat. Tears slowly traced Narcissa's cheeks.

"Oh," Ginny said, finally unable to stand it any longer. "Don't cry," she said, and she rushed forward. Enveloping the grieving mother in her arms, she patted her back as Narcissa broke down. The woman sank onto a chair, and Luna and Professor McGonagall rallied around, also offering comfort. Harry walked up, and held out a hand.

"I'm… I'm sorry about Draco," he said quietly. Narcissa looked up at him, down at his hand, and then shook it.

"Let's get you back to your room," Ginny said, helping her up. They both disappeared into the fireplace, and the others remained quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Ron spoke up.

"We'd better check on Hermione," he said to Harry and Neville, and the boys left, followed by Luna. The teachers, Sirius, and Remus also eventually left, leaving Dumbledore in his office. He stood up, took a memory from his head, and placed it into the pensieve, watching it twirl around.

"How will this all turn out?" he murmured to himself, watching the memory fade into the rest.

* * *

Hermione, upon returning to the common room, stood in front of the fire, regretting her outburst. While Ginny was comforting Narcissa Malfoy, Hermione was slowly walking up the stairs into the dorm room.

She noticed an owl sitting at the window, patiently waiting to be let in. Once inside, it was fed some owl treats, while Hermione untied the parchment from its leg. The owl was from the school, but she didn't recognise the writing. It couldn't be from a teacher; and who would be owling her?

With a slight frown on her face, she opened up the note, and read.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I know it's weird—me writing to you—but you're the smartest person in our year, even though you're not pureblood. Also, you try to get along with everyone, which kind of makes me respect you._

_Since learning about Draco's death, I'm resolved to find those people responsible, and put an end to their hateful lives. Whether or not you endorse this, I'm going anyway. In fact, by the time you've read this, I'll be gone._

_Do not try looking for me. I'm not as smart as you, but I can still do charms to make myself… well, unplottable, I suppose._

_Sincerely,_

_Pansy Parkinson._

"Oh no," Hermione said, and she raced out of the dorm, out of the common room, and made her way back to the headmaster's office.

* * *

Pansy took one last look at the castle that had been her home for the past more than five years. After taking one big breath, and letting it out slowly, she walked away towards Hogsmeade, where she would floo away, away to even she didn't know where.

All she knew was that the one boy she had ever loved was dead, and she wasn't going to let his murderer's get away with it. She only hoped that the Granger girl had enough sense to take her advice, and let her go.

The darkness soon engulfed her as she went on her way.

**

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**

Ooh! Who'd have thought it? Isn't it exciting? Wow!

**Oh, and in case any non-Aussies were wondering… Tim Tams **_**ROCK**_**.**

**Just thought you should know. See you next time on… "That One Little Word."**


	7. The Seller and the Spells

"A Seller and Spells"

"Headmaster! Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione hollered as she sprinted along the hallways. She passed various students and teachers, including some of those who had been in the office when she had had her outburst. She didn't notice anyone.

"Herm…" Harry began as she bolted past. The boys nearly got whiplash as they watched her go past.

"Professor!" she positively shrieked. Dumbledore had heard her shouts, and emerged from his office in time to be very nearly bowled over.

"Miss Granger?" he said politely. Hermione tried to get her breath, and rested her hand on the gargoyle.

"Prof… Pansy… gone… revenge… I…" She stopped, coughing.

"Dobby?" Sirius said. He had followed Hermione when he saw how panic-stricken she was. Dobby appeared with a loud 'crack'.

"How can Dobby help?" he asked. He looked distressed when he saw Hermione, tears running down her cheeks and covering her mouth to muffle the coughs.

"Could you please get Hermione a drink?" Dumbledore asked, and Dobby quickly complied, while Hermione handed over the letter. The headmaster read it with a frown, and passed it to Sirius.

"We… have to… find… her," Hermione said, calming down. Dobby returned with pumpkin juice quick as a wink, and Hermione nodded her thanks as she accepted it. She downed the juice in only a few gulps, and Dobby disappeared once again with the goblet.

"I'm sorry… about before," she told Dumbledore. He patted her on the shoulder. "And I'm sorry I couldn't help her. I didn't realise that she'd do anything like this." She waved her hand at the parchment.

"It's not your responsibility, Hermione," Sirius said, rubbing her back comfortingly. A warm feeling consumed her, but she didn't change her expression. Dumbledore was so observant that he would have noticed it.

"You never said what happened to Professor Umbridge," Hermione finally said, trying to change the direction of the conversation, knowing that there was little they could do for the runaway. It was undeniable that she was skilled in certain aspects of Charms, and that she _would_ be difficult to trace.

"Well, it seems your… uh, stunt… with the Centaurs," Dumbledore said, trying to work out the best way to put it.

"She's not… dead, is she?" Hermione asked, horrified at the thought that she had brought about a death. Not that she cared what happened to Umbridge, but it was still worrying that the woman might be dead.

"No, no, no," Dumbledore said.

"Better," Sirius said, a smiling twitching at the corners of his lips. Hermione had to mentally slap herself to stop from staring at his mouth.

"She's… in St. Mungo's," Dumbledore finally said. Hermione nearly snorted with repressed laughter. "It's not funny, Miss Granger," the headmaster admonished. "She has had to be treated for certain injuries. It is expected that she will go to Azkaban."

"Too bloody right," Sirius muttered.

"I'm sorry that I laughed, Headmaster," Hermione said, chastened.

"An understandable reaction after her treatment of the students here," Dumbledore said.

"Again, I say 'too bloody right'," Sirius said.

"In the meantime, I guess we should just wait for Pansy to send another owl, and hopefully trace her through that," Hermione said, and after saying goodbye to the men, she went to class, her feet dragging slightly.

* * *

A few days later, they still hadn't heard from Pansy, and almost everyone in the school was worried by now. The Parkinsons had been contacted, and they were now in a state of frenzy. Narcissa was extremely worried. She had always assumed that Pansy would marry Draco—in fact, everyone had assumed that—but she hadn't considered how the girl would react to his death.

During breakfast, an owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of Remus. He read it eagerly. When he finished, he let out a whoop. Everyone turned around.

"Oh… uh… sorry, everyone," he said, calming down. But Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all watched as he spoke animatedly to Minerva, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Severus.

"Harry would have loved to see that," Ginny said, looking sad.

The three boys had left the day before. They had a mirror that Sirius had given Harry, a mirror that belonged to James. Sirius had another mirror, one that he used to use to keep in contact with his friend during their school days, and even later in life. Now, they would be used for a greater purpose. As The Researchers—as they now called themselves—found information on the horcruxes, they would convey it to The Searchers, i.e. the boys. Equally, they would inform The Researchers when they successfully destroyed a horcrux.

For the journey, they had taken the sword of Gryffindor and the fangs of the basilisk, which Hermione had pointed out would be useful. After all, Harry had used one to destroy the diary horcrux.

"I wonder," Hermione said. Ginny looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, Remus said that he was writing to all the known rare book sellers," Hermione explained. "Maybe this is a reply from one of them."

"You think he's found someone who has the _Secrets of Deep Magick_?" Ginny said, tilting her head slightly. She thought. "It's possible."

"Only one way to find out," Hermione said, standing up. Remus had caught her eyes, and nodded his head towards the door near the staff table. She realised that he wanted to tell them. "Come on. Let's get Luna."

* * *

Remus was waiting impatiently, and was soon joined by Sirius. The girls ran down the corridor to them, also impatient.

"Well? Did you find the book?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Remus said, grinning from ear to ear. The girls cheered, and began to dance around excitedly. Hermione almost hugged Sirius, but stopped herself in time, hoping that no one noticed. They didn't appear to.

"Who is it?" Ginny asked.

"His name is Sleeky Constant," Remus said, and they all heard a snort from behind him. They turned to see Severus.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Sleeky Constant is… now, how do I put it?" Severus said, looking pensive.

"Politely, I should hope," Remus said, trying not to sneer at him.

"He's a bit of a shady character," Severus said, smirking.

"Well, it's logical," Hermione said. "It's a rare book, and if it mentions how to bring people back to life, of course he won't be exactly… _'sleeky'_ clean."

The others all laughed at her pun, except Severus. He considered smiling, just to frighten them all, but decided against it.

"As long as the headmaster is in favour of consorting with someone whose place is on the _black_ market," at this he looked at Sirius, who glared at him, "why should I have a problem?"

"I don't think they were going to consult you somehow, Professor Snape," Luna said, and they all raised their eyebrows at her surprising audaciousness.

"How much is he asking for it?" Hermione asked Remus, and this was where his smile slipped slightly.

"Fifteen hundred galleons," he said, and they gasped. "And three… compressed spells."

Severus, Sirius, and Hermione all widened their eyes.

"Three… whats?" Ginny and Luna asked at the same time.

**

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Note to readers:

**Thank you for the reviews. You are all brilliant, wonderful people, and evidently my kind of folks.**

**From now on, it's first-name terms with all the goodies except Professor Dumbledore. I just can't bring myself to call—er, write—him as Albus. Maybe that will change. So, yes. Professor McGonagall is now Minerva.**

**Anywho! A bit late at night, I know, for me to be posting. Ah well. Watching the last episode **_**ever**_** of **_**All Saints**_**. Very sad. Ending happily, naturally, but still. Very sad that it's all ending. Sigh. Oh. A montage to a Beatles song at the moment.**

**Yay for The Beatles!**

**By the way, I hated the ending of the first chapter. Just the last line has me a bit… I dunno. Who thinks it needs to be changed?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. And I do all this at the end because I have no desire to interrupt the plot.**

**Can't think of anything else to add now, so sorry for the cliffhanger, and see you all tomorrow!**


	8. Protecting the Passageways

"Protecting the Passageways"

"A compressed spell," Hermione said, "is a spell in tablet form. Well, something _like_ a tablet form."

"What do you use it for?" Ginny asked, confused. "I mean, you can't really _eat_ a spell… can you?"

"Think, Ginny," Remus said. "What would happen if you cast a Tarantallegra spell on someone, it makes them dance until you reverse the spell, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, if you gave them a compressed version, without their knowing, they would have to have the antidote, because as it would be inside them, it couldn't be countered with just a wave of the wand."

"Oh," Ginny said. Luna looked thoughtful.

"So, if you made a Cheering charm into a compressed spell," she said, "would that make the person happy until they had the antidote?"

"Or it might wear off eventually, yes," Sirius said.

"In other words, it would be like an ecstasy tablet," Hermione said grimly.

"They're extremely difficult to make," Remus said. "It takes a lot of time, patience, concentration."

"Not to mention the right incantation," Sirius said.

"Oh, but I know the incantation," Hermione told them, and they all looked at her. "Or, at least, I read it somewhere," she muttered, looking away.

"Where?" Sirius asked.

"In the library," Hermione said, astounded that he needed to ask.

"Of course in the library," Severus said, and Hermione almost poked her tongue out at him. He guessed what she was going to do, and smirked. While everyone was looking at her, he poked his own tongue out, quickly retracting it before anyone else saw. Hermione was shocked, and annoyed that she couldn't retaliate without loss of house points.

"Let's get to the library, then," Remus said. "Before classes start."

"Can't," Hermione said, and she bit her lip. "It's somewhere in the Restricted Section, but I'm not sure where. Sorry."

"And we really should get to class," Ginny said. "What have you got now, Hermione?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," she said, suddenly looking forward to the class, and a chance for payback. If only the Weasley twins were there, but they had left the previous year, amid spectacular fireworks. She wouldn't have had time to consult with them, anyway.

* * *

"You will once again practise non-verbal spells," Severus told the class, separating them into pairs. With the absence of five students there was now an odd number. Last lesson he had put the students into groups of three, so that the third group member could listen to make sure that there was no sound from the person casting the spell.

But he was sure that Hermione was going to try something. Therefore, out of curiosity, he decided on something different.

"Today, however," he said, "you'll be in pairs."

"But, sir," Hermione said, automatically putting up her hand. Severus just looked at her.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" he finally asked, killing the suspense.

"There's an odd number of students," she said.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," Severus said, "for being so worried that my mental faculties may have… declined overnight." The Slytherins sniggered. "As a reward, you can practise with me."

Perfect, Hermione thought, pretending to look worried, and then resigned. She got a couple of reassuring pats on the shoulder on the way past the other students, to stand opposite the teacher.

Soon, the duelling was underway. It was very quiet, because despite a few grunts, they really _were_ trying to be quiet. They still didn't have the hang of it, as it was mostly sparks flying out of wands, and very few then.

Hermione refrained from grinning as she struck a duelling pose.

"You have forgotten something, Miss Granger," Severus said, and Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"What's that, Professor?" she asked.

"You forgot to bow," he said, and she blushed, annoyed that she had forgotten. Severus was amused at her discomfort, failing to point out that the other students hadn't bothered with the formality.

"_Now_, you ready yourself for the duel," he said, and they both struck the same duelling pose.

"Ready, Miss Granger?" he asked, a smirk making its way back onto his face. "I promise, I won't strike you with anything to bad."

"Go your hardest, Professor," Hermione said, and then she realised what she'd said. She pretended not to notice, but Severus had noticed the connotation.

"Anytime, Miss Granger," he said, and Hermione's mouth dropped open.

Severus swished his wand around, and Hermione leapt out of the way, avoiding a Jelly Legs jinx.

"Unsporting, Professor!" she had the temerity to say. "I thought that, as I'm the student, I'd go first."

"Yes; I can just see a Death Eater being so accommodating," Severus said sarcastically.

"You clearly weren't," Hermione muttered. He glared, hearing her, but jumped out of the way as Hermione sent a Stunner his way.

"Well done, Miss Granger," he said, and more than a dozen wands clattered to the floor when everyone in the room heard him.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," Hermione said, feeling as though this was _definitely_ the best payback. Before Severus could register what was happening, she had got him with a Cheering Charm, it being the first thing to come into her mind.

Thank you, Luna, she thought, as a smile came onto Severus' face.

"You'll pay for that, Hermione," he said. Everyone had already stopped duelling, just watching the exchange between the prefect at the teacher.

"Really… _Severus_?" she asked playfully, jumping out of the way of his Disarming spell.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your impertinence, Miss Granger," Severus said, but Hermione just poked her tongue out at him. The students gasped at her audacity, and several feared for her life.

"Still happy, sir?" Hermione asked. Severus was still unable to stop smiling from the charm. Hermione brandished her wand, and he ducked to avoid the Incarcerous spell.

He got her next with a silent Rictusempra. Hermione had difficulty standing, as the Tickling Charm made breathing a bit tricky with all the laughter.

"Just a taste of your own medicine," Severus said, still smiling, although he could feel the charm fading.

Hermione sent a last spell his way.

Densaugeo, she thought, and he was unexpectedly hit with the charm Draco Malfoy had once got her with. Severus realised what it was as his teeth started to grow at an alarming rate.

"Just in memory of an old… friend," Hermione said, her smile a little sad. The effects of the Tickling spell quickly faded away.

"Class dismissed," Severus managed to say despite the teeth. "Miss Granger, you're coming with me to the infirmary."

"Yes, sir," she said, really hoping that the story of the not-so-silent duelling session got around the school by lunch time.

* * *

Sure enough, it had. Madame Pomfrey had reduced the teeth with no trouble, chuckling when Hermione told her that she had cast it. The incident reminded her of when she had had to deal with Hermione's teeth similarly.

Unfortunately for Severus, someone had told Peeves, who made sure that everyone knew about it. Hermione had had to accompany Severus to the Great Hall for lunch. He gripped her elbow _very_ tightly. When she would have gone to join the other students through the main entrance, he shook his head, and dragged her along the corridor to the teachers' entrance.

"You proved yourself so worthy of advanced magic, I thought you might like to come through a different entrance," he said. "You know, set yourself apart from the other students."

"Thank you, Professor Snape," Hermione said, through clenched teeth. "You're really too kind. I shall have to tell everyone how kind you are, now."

Severus growled quietly, and Hermione immediately thought of Sirius. And, consequently, the rest of the staff. Oh dear. She really shouldn't have hexed him.

"Uh, Professor, really… I don't mind being with the other…"

"No, no, no," he said. "I insist." And he shoved her through the doorway, very unceremoniously. The teachers all looked around.

"Ah, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said, beaming at her. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Professor Snape was just complimenting me on my duelling skills," Hermione said.

"We heard," Sirius said, smiling wickedly. Hermione suddenly felt very weak at the knees, particularly when he stood up. "Come here," he said, giving her a hug. "Worthy of anyone who can out-duel Snape."

"I… he hardly thinks of it that way, Sirius," she said, nervous about the angry glint in Severus' eyes.

"Now you may return to your seat, Miss Granger," he said, his voice almost a purr now.

"Thank you, sir," she said, and Sirius dropped his arms to let her go. She was blushing, and not just because she now had to walk past more than half the students to get to her place.

She wasn't prepared for applause, though. Gryffindors high-fived her on the way, and she reddened even further. They were impressed that the bookworm prefect would dare to poke her tongue out at a teacher, or call them by the first name, or hex them… and especially Professor Snape. She was the one always telling them to call him _Professor_, and not just Snape.

"Thank you, thank you," she murmured, seating herself next to a grinning Ginny. She stole a glance up at the staff table. Severus was glaring daggers at her. Sirius sent her a wink, which made her heart dance.

* * *

Well, things didn't go quite to plan, did they? Severus thought, watching the girl being congratulated.

"You're taking this very well, I must say, Severus," Minerva said, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement.

"She'll just be more unbearable now, you realise," he said, frowning at the Gryffindors who dared to look up. He bared his now-normal-sized teeth at them, and they all quickly looked back at their plates, suddenly very nervous.

Although, this could have its advantages, he thought, smirking to himself.

"We did find the book, quite quickly," Remus said, redirecting the conversation, not liking the look on Severus' face. "The book with the compressed spells. Hermione will certainly be able to help with them, I believe. Now we just need the fifteen hundred galleons."

"I'll be providing the money," Dumbledore said, and Remus smiled.

"Thank you, Albus," he said, and they all returned to their lunch, thankfully with no more incidents.

"Have you finished guarding all of the secret passages?" Dumbledore asked.

"Almost," Sirius said. "Thankfully, Harry had the Marauder's Map, so we've been able to refer to it when we need to. Just got one more floor to go, and they'll all be protected against Death Eater invasion. We still don't know what Pettigrew might have told them."

"Don't worry, Albus," Remus said. "They won't be able to get past our wards. We got some… security devices… from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Dumbledore said. "I've been meaning to buy some things from them. Just to support their business," he said quickly when the other teachers looked at him. "No, not for personal use."

"Never suggested they might be, Headmaster," Sirius said, smiling into his goblet.

**

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No cliffhangers for this chapter, unless you count the whole story as a cliffhanger, which I guess you could. As it is, things seem to be progressing slightly. You'll be happy—or indifferent—to know that I waited until I'd done a sizeable amount of uni work before writing this.

**Listening to **_**Cavalleria Rusticana**_** at the moment. I still think that the best piece in it is the Intermezzo. This is the one-act opera that's often performed in conjunction with **_**Pagliacci**_**. The famous song from that is "Vesti la giubba". A bit of it is used in one of Queen's songs. Can't remember which one.**

**But nobody's got **_**anything**_** on Puccini. Listened to **_**Tosca**_** before. Mmm… **


	9. Constant's Communications

"Constant's Communications"

Sleeky Constant was hardly an honest man. He was, after all, a collector of books; many, many books. And he had no scruples when it came to collecting them. They were, for the most part, Dark books.

He knew that there would be many eager to get their hands on his collection. He had certainly given blood, sweat, and tears for them—literally, in fact—as well as having to surrender at least one organ so far. Nothing vital; otherwise he couldn't continue collecting, could he?

Always on the lookout for a good book, a rare book, was Sleeky. Every time he got an owl from somewhere, he would half-hope it was about a book he could buy. The other half hoped that it was a possible sale on his part, so that he could continue to fund his 'hobby'.

When he received an owl from Albus Dumbledore, his proverbial antenna went up. He was concerned, quite irrationally, as it turned out. Though he hadn't had any dealings with Hogwarts students in _many_ years, he was worried that maybe he had done something he shouldn't have without knowing it.

"How now, Dumbledore?" he murmured, getting to the end of the letter. There was a nasty glint in his eye. However the letter was worded, his practised, reader's eyes saw the meaning between the lines. Dumbledore needed this book; really needed it. And Sleeky was the only dealer he knew who had _Secrets of Deep Magick_.

He wrote back directly, offering the book to Dumbledore with a price tag of fifteen hundred galleons. He added the compressed spells as an afterthought. He had never been good at making them himself, and it required far too much effort. They could be damned useful. Dumbledore was to accept his offer first, and _then_ Sleeky would say which spells he wanted compressed.

But, being a dishonest man, he wondered if there was another interested party. If Dumbledore was so desperate to be writing to _him_, then he must want to prevent someone else getting their hands on it.

Useful, useful, he thought. He knew exactly who to ask, as well…

* * *

Two days later, Dumbledore had returned his owl, accepting his offer, and asking for particulars on the compressed spells.

That morning another letter had arrived for Sleeky. His contact had confirmed that indeed there _was_ another interested party, a well known escaped Death Eater. Sleeky knew better than to ask for names. He hadn't been collecting Dark books for most of his life for _nothing_.

"Twenty-five hundred galleons," he murmured, greed shining through his usually dull eyes, reading the Death Eater's letter. "And… protection. Interesting."

He stood, and looked out the window of his secure apartment. As far as he knew, his apartment was well protected. The 'shop' he owned downstairs was always closed, except for select clients.

"Today, too," he said, looking at the letter once again. A knock at the door downstairs brought him out of his reverie. He would leave his musings until a later time.

When he reached the door, he was surprised to see a young girl, probably fifteen or sixteen, looking through the glass at him. He thought he recognised her.

"Miss Parkinson," he said, admitting Pansy into the shop. "How pleasant to see you again. But shouldn't you be at school?"

"You heard what happened to Draco," she said. It wasn't a question. Sleeky nodded.

"Yes; my condolences, my dear. And how are your parents?"

Pansy flinched. He had known her mother's parents since they were at Hogwarts together, and consequently met the rest of the family.

"They're okay, I guess," she said, looking around the shop. "Listen, I'll get straight to the point. Have you heard from anyone?" Sleeky purposely looked blank. "You know, Death Eaters on the run, Dark Lord sympathisers. My parents may be with them; I'm waiting for them to owl me. Family connections won't stop me from avenging Draco, of course," she muttered, but Sleeky heard.

"Look, even if I _had_ heard from them," he began, but Pansy's head whipped up.

"You have, haven't you," she said. Again, it wasn't a question.

"Ye-es," Sleeky admitted.

Pansy waited for a minute. Finally, she asked, "Well?"

"They've told me where to meet them to sell them a book," he said slowly. Pansy's eyes lit up with vengeance.

"Take me with you," she said. After some convincing, Sleeky agreed to let her accompany him. She could help him carry the gold back to the shop after they made the deal. He never thought to tell her that Dumbledore wanted the book, too.

* * *

They arrived in a meadow, after following directions that took them both to a few different places.

"It's about bloody time," Sleeky and Pansy muttered simultaneously, when they saw three Death Eaters approaching.

"Got the book?" one of them asked. Sleeky pulled it out of from underneath his travelling cloak.

"You didn't say you'd be bringing a girl with you," the second Death Eater said.

"She insisted on coming," Sleeky said, a slight whine to his voice. Pansy glared at him, the hood of her travelling cloak covering the expression with shadow.

"Here's the money," the third man said, tossing a heavy bag onto the ground. Sleeky's mind was going into overdrive. _Think_ of the books he could buy now! He handed over the book immediately, and leaned down to lift the bag.

"Avada Kedavra," the first Death Eater said, and Sleeky lay on the ground, flat on his back. Pansy couldn't even scream. She was frozen, and was unable to breathe.

"It's in code," the man with the book said, frowning at it. "Fun."

"Get the money," the first man said, and the third one retrieved the bag. "You," he said, waving his wand at Pansy, who still hadn't snapped out of the shock. "You're coming with us. We need some more… female… entertainment."

Now Pansy screamed.

**

* * *

**

In the previous chapter, things could have really gone somewhere with Severus and Hermione. You know, the whole duelling thing. Let me know if anyone wants me to write a Hermione/Severus story at some stage. Obviously, not until I'm finished with this one. Can't get distracted.

**Anyway, I'm exceedingly pleased—not to mention surprised—at the response I've had. Lots of people are following this story, for which I thank you all. Keep up the reading, and keep up the enjoying. Sorry for the bad English. Oi.**

**I love books!**


	10. The Book and the Bracelet

"The Book and the Bracelet"

"It's been three days," Hermione said, pacing in front of Dumbledore's desk. "Why hasn't he contacted us?"

"Hermione," Remus said, as Dumbledore watched her, unmoving, "it's possible that the Death Eaters got to him. He may have even sold them the book. Or both." Hermione turned to him.

"So what do we do?" she said. She turned to Dumbledore. "What do we do?"

"We could try…" Sirius began, and he paused. Everyone in the room—Dumbledore, Hermione, Remus, Minerva, and Severus—looked at him. "We could try sending a Patronus to him. He can't avoid a Patronus."

"How very true," Dumbledore said, his eyes starting to twinkle again. He summoned his Patronus, and told it to find Sleeky.

But instead of obeying his orders, his Patronus ran around the room aimlessly, and finally came to rest in front of the desk. The confused look on its face was like a shrug, as if to say 'What can _I_ do?'

"Oh dear," Dumbledore said, his eyes no longer twinkling. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

They all knew. Sleeky Constant was dead.

"Then the book…" Minerva said.

"It's gone," Severus said, anger in his eyes.

The news, fortunately enough, didn't spread around the school. The only two outside of Dumbledore's office who were told were Ginny and Luna, and they reached an unspoken agreement to refrain from mentioning it to Narcissa. She was depressed enough about Draco's death and her husband's imprisonment. She felt like a prisoner herself, trapped in a situation that was the only way to stay alive. And without Pansy there, her last link to Draco, she was completely lost.

"I wish we knew where Pansy was," Ginny said. "I feel so useless. The only thing I can think of is to get her back. That'll make Mrs. Malfoy feel better."

"Nothing we really _can_ do," Luna said. "I wonder how the boys are doing?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, even more downcast than before.

"Oh, I made you something," Luna told Ginny, trying to cheer her up. She pulled something out of her pocket, and Ginny perked up.

"What is it?" she asked, and Luna smiled dreamily. She held out a colourful string which was decorated with beads and ribbon.

"It's a friendship bracelet," she said, and she tied it around the other girl's wand wrist.

"It's lovely," Ginny said.

"I've got one the same," Luna said, showing her a matching bracelet tied around her own right wrist. "Here." And she held out her hand, palm facing inwards, at an angle, and slightly forward. Ginny smiled, and put her hand in Luna's. Magic surrounded the clutched hands like an Unbreakable Vow, surging around in threads, with beads and sparks flying and crackling. Ginny gasped, but Luna just smiled.

"Friends for life," she said.

"Friends for life," Ginny repeated.

Dumbledore received a letter that night.

_We have the book. You haven't got a chance. Give up now, and we may let you live._

It was unsigned, which was, naturally, a worry. He summoned Severus to his office after dinner. In truth, Severus was glad to get away from marking the deplorable essays his students had the temerity to hand in. There were more people skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts than there had been in Potions, which was disappointing. Why did so many people place wand-waving above potion-making? And it was only now that Potter was beginning to show some sort of talent in Potions, which was suspicious.

"What is it, Albus?"

"Do you recognise this writing?" Dumbledore asked. Severus read the note, and then raised his eyes. His eyebrows quickly followed.

"No," he said. "It must be someone with whom I never corresponded. Perhaps a sympathiser from the Ministry."

"Possible," Dumbledore said, and he followed this with a deep sigh. "I feel this is all just too much for me anymore." He placed his head in his hands, and Severus glared at him.

"Too much? _Too much_?" He stood up and towered over the desk, hate written all over his face. "I've been a spy for you for _years_ and _years_ and _years_. And now you're saying that it's too much for _you_? I have been through _hell_ and back. Have you _never_ cared at all about me? Have you ever forgotten the 'Greater Good', and remembered the real people, the people who have stopped the Dark Lord from getting to power? Who have fought so long and _hard_ against Lord Voldemort? Have you?"

They were both shocked when Severus said the name. They were both shocked by the amount of emotion that he was showing, period.

In fact, they were both so surprised that neither of them noticed Hermione turning away from the door and disappearing back down the stairs, her thoughts full of the argument, her emotions in turmoil.

As she ran down to the school gates, Ginny looked back, afraid of the world outside, but even more afraid of staying. She had left a note for Luna, a note for Hermione, and a note for Narcissa, explaining everything.

She didn't dare look back again, afraid that if she did she might never leave. Then she couldn't search for Pansy, couldn't find her. She needed to find her. For Narcissa. For herself. For Pansy.

Fingering her friendship bracelet, she let out a breath that she felt she had been holding for years. She opened the gate, and Ginny, the youngest Weasley child, left the safety of Hogwarts to search for a renegade Slytherin who life was in danger.

Hermione was too upset by what she had heard, what she had seen, to be able to think straight, let alone notice the note Ginny had left her. She mulled over what she had heard; even forgot why she went to the headmaster's office in the first place.

"What on earth has Professor Dumbledore been doing to Professor Snape?" she wondered aloud, the sound slightly muffled by her pillow. Tears were streaming down her face. The Defence teacher had been really upset. She had never realised just how much he must suffer by having two masters, the two most powerful wizards in the world telling him what to do, testing his loyalty. What could she do to make him feel better, to cheer him up?

"Perhaps a birthday present," she said, but sat up straight when she heard Luna yelling her name.

"Hermione! Hermione!"

"In here," she said, fearing for the worst. "What is it, Luna?"

"It's Ginny," the Ravenclaw said, throwing the letter onto the bed. "Haven't you read your note?"

"You're… you're crying," Hermione said. She had never seen Luna cry; she was usually so optimistic.

"You would be, too," Luna said, sobbing.

"I… I didn't even notice," Hermione said, distressed at the other girl's tears. She picked it up, and read it silently.

"We need to see Professor Dumbledore," she said. "Immediately. There may still be time. Come on." She grabbed Luna's left arm, and hauled her downstairs, and out into the corridor. Hermione hoped against hope that Severus might still be there… and hoped against hope that he might have left.

**Wow. What is **_**with**_** everyone leaving Hogwarts. And what is **_**with**_** italics? Poor Severus. Dumbledore's driving the poor bloke to the limit, and possibly over the edge. And what shall Hermione do with what she'd learned?**

**All questions to be answered… eventually. Tee hee hee!**


	11. Tracking Traitors

"Tracking Traitors"

Ginny's skills as a detective shone while she was on the trail of the renegades. She was able to glean information from different sources, and was soon hot on their tracks. There was still no sign of Pansy Parkinson, or the body of Sleeky Constant. She did get a Patronus from Luna, asking where the hell she was, and moved on from that area as quickly as possible.

"Three and a half miles left," she puffed, skirting around a forest. She _knew_ there was a cave nearby, where people were afraid to go. They couldn't understand why they were afraid, which was suspicious in itself.

She never considered the risk of actually trying to fight off numerous dark wizards. She was only intent on getting Pansy back to Hogwarts to comfort Narcissa, and maybe even finding the book.

But things didn't go as planned. She cried out when someone stumbled out from the woods, and she whipped her wand out.

It was a portly man, short and cowering. He was shaking, and bloodied up from something—or someone.

He looked up and saw Ginny. His eyes lit up for a moment, before he sank to the ground with a groan. Swallowing her fear, she ran forward, wand still at the ready, and studied his injuries.

"Grey… back," he moaned.

"Who _are_ you?" Ginny asked. She realised that he must have been attacked by Fenrir Greyback, who was one of the Death Eaters on the run. Sure enough, by her calculations, it would have been a full moon the night before.

"Peter… Pettigrew," the man said. Ginny gasped.

"You're the one who…"

"I've… heard it all… before," Peter said. "From… Hogwarts?" He raised his head, and Ginny saw real fear in his eyes. She felt pity for him, something she never thought she would feel for the man who so thoughtlessly betrayed Harry's parents.

"Yes, I'm from Hogwarts," she told him.

"Take… book," he said, pulling something from his cloak. "Give it… to Sirius." Ginny gasped when she saw it; the book they had been looking for. She quickly promised that she would get it safely back to the school.

"Sleeky Constant is dead, isn't he?" she cotinued. Peter nodded sadly. "And where's Pansy? What happened to her? Have you seen her?"

"Yes," Peter said, regaining his breath a bit. But Ginny could tell he didn't have long; he had lost too much blood from all the deep gashes on his body.

"Where is she?" Ginny asked quietly.

"I… don't… know," Peter said, and as Ginny held him in her arms, his last breath left his body.

Ginny wept for him.

* * *

Eventually, she realised that the injuries were still fairly fresh. And with the book missing, chances were that the Death Eaters would be hot on Peter's trail to get it back.

She ran from the body, clutching the book to her chest, the tears still streaming down her face. She had seen a man die, right in her very arms. She hadn't been able to save him, even if he didn't deserve to be saved.

And now she may die, and would lose the book all over again.

The bracelet started to tingle, but Ginny barely noticed it.

* * *

"Sir!" Hermione called, running up the staircase, Luna following her.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, and Hermione nearly ran into Severus, who was indeed still there.

"Oh; hello, Professor Snape," she said.

"Miss Granger," he replied, looking down his nose at her. "Miss Lovegood."

"Professor," she said. Both Dumbledore and Severus were as shocked as Hermione was at the tears on Luna's face.

"Ginny's gone," Hermione burst out.

"Wait up, wait up," Sirius said, puffing as he and Remus hurried up the stairs. "Didn't you hear us calling?" he asked Hermione and Luna.

"We were… pre-occupied," Hermione said, breathless again.

"Black, Lupin," Severus said. "What brings you here?"

"We sent Hermione to you," Remus said, frowning. "We got worried when she didn't return."

Hermione didn't dare say that she had heard any of the argument between Severus and Dumbledore. "I… I got distracted," she said. "Listen, Ginny's run away," she said, turning back to Dumbledore. "She's gone to find Pansy."

"Stupid girl," Severus muttered.

"She's worried about one of _your_ students!" Hermione reminded him. She forgot any sympathy she had had for him amidst her anger.

"I am well aware of that," he said stiffly. "But _she_ is the one who has foolishly run away from her only safe haven, may I remind you."

"What do we do, Professor?" Luna asked the headmaster. Dumbledore looked at her.

"If she has placed the same spells on her that Miss Parkinson has, then we have little chance of finding her," he said truthfully. "Don't worry about it, Miss Lovegood."

"And don't try and find her yourself," Severus said.

"We'll find her, Luna," Remus said, placing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "It's all right."

"Just get a good night's sleep," Sirius said, and he patted Hermione on the back. She avoided his eyes, but only Severus noticed. He filed it away in his mind for later reference.

"Okay," Hermione said. "Come on, Luna. You can stay in Gryffindor tower tonight, if you like."

The younger girl nodded, and they left.

"Really, Albus," Sirius said, turning back to the headmaster after watching the girls leave the office. "What do we do?"

"The same that we did—and are still doing—to find Miss Parkinson," Dumbledore replied.

"In other words, not enough," Sirius said, collapsing into a chair.

"Sirius, _nothing_ will be enough until this war's over," Remus said, following suit.

"Well, fun as this is," Severus said, "I've got _teacher_ things to be doing." He swept out of the room, robes billowing as per usual. Sirius snorted as soon as the door closed behind him.

"Drama queen," he muttered, and Remus and Dumbledore both frowned. "What?"

Dumbledore sighed. "What was it that you sent Miss Granger to tell me?"

"We've found another reference to _Secrets of Old Magick_, but nothing on the Veil," Remus said.

"Ah," Dumbledore said. "What did it say about the book?"

"Just that it's in code, no known language, ancient or otherwise," Sirius said. "Sorry."

"Well, it hardly matters anyway," Dumbledore said. They looked at him.

"Why not?"

He showed them the note, and the researchers sighed.

"If, by some strange miracle, we get the book back," Sirius said, "then we'll need Hermione more than ever. You saw how great she is at languages. We'll need her help to decode it."

"In other words, you may need her to skip classes," Dumbledore said. Sirius nodded.

"Fat chance of that happening," Remus said, smiling. "You know what she's like when it comes to her education."

"I think you'll find, Remus, that she'll be willing to do anything for the gre… for the best," Dumbledore said, stumbling. Neither of the other men noticed. His argument with Severus had deeply affected him.

He thought. Had Hermione heard them? Was she so shocked that she left before saying anything? He sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

"I'm just going to apologise to Professor Snape," Hermione told Luna. The distraught girl hardly noticed what she said. Hermione left the Gryffindor common room and wandered down to the dungeons.

She knocked on the door to the professor's office. He had decided to keep living there, as he was still the head of Slytherin house.

"Professor? Professor Snape? Are you there?"

Severus whipped the door open. He sneered.

"Where else did you expect me to be, Miss Granger?" he asked. "Gryffindor common room?"

"No, sir; I've just come from there," Hermione replied calmly. "I only came to apologise for snapping at you earlier. I'm sorry." She looked directly into his eyes, openly honest, letting him see her thoughts in case he used Legillimancy.

"Is that so, Miss Granger?" he asked after several seconds. "Well, I accept your apology, then." He waited. "Well? Is that all?"

"How…" Hermione bit her lip. Severus raised on eyebrow, leaning against the door pane, his arms crossed. "How are you feeling, Professor?"

"Did Dumbledore send you here?" he asked.

"No," Hermione said, her brow furrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I hardly think that you'd come here of your own volition," he said.

"But, sir," she replied. "I just wanted to know. After all, you're our professor. Can't have you falling asleep during the lesson," she said, grinning. "You need to stay healthy, otherwise it may affect your teaching."

"Yes," Severus said, as he stood up straight and unfurled his arms. "And you're always so concerned about your grades, aren't you?"

Hermione was immediately on her guard.

"And concerned about you, sir," she said.

"_And_ Sirius Black," he said, his eyebrow still raised. Hermione tried not to panic.

"Well, yes; he's Harry's godfather," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Of course," Severus said. He leaned over, towering over Hermione, who tried to shrink into the floor. "And Miss Granger?"

"Y-yes?" she stuttered. He leaned over and placed his lips right near her ear. He continued in a whisper.

"Never, _ever_ imply that my teaching skills would slip."

"I… I just meant…"

"I don't _care_ what you meant, Miss Granger," Severus said. He stepped back from her, and pulled up his left sleeve. "See this?" and he pushed forward his arm to show her the Dark Mark. "_This_ means that I don't _deserve_ any sympathy. I don't deserve pity."

"No," Hermione said, tears in her eyes, shaking her head. "You're wrong. The thing you _don't_ deserve is what has happened to you. There's no point in pitying you; I hate pity myself. But I do feel for you. And if ever you need anyone to talk to, please don't push that away. I'm… I'm here for you, Professor Snape." She put a hand on his arm, but he thrust it off, and stormed back into the dungeons, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione leaned back against the wall, and turned her head to look towards the stairs so she could head back to the Gryffindor tower. But she saw a shape in the dark.

"Who is it?" she asked, her wand out immediately.

"Just me, Hermione," Sirius said, walking forward into the light of the nearest candle.

"Oh, Sirius," Hermione said, brushing away some of the tears, wondering how much he had heard.

"Don't cry over him," Sirius said, holding out his arms. "Don't snivel over Snivellus," he added cheekily. Hermione's laugh was one short bark, much like Sirius' laugh.

"Oh…" she said, and she threw herself into his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sirius said, stroking her on the back as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm just so sick of this, all of this," she said, her body wracking with sobs. "And he's worked so hard. He just won't accept he-help. I'm trying, really I'm trying, Sirius. I'm trying so hard."

"I know you are, love; I know you are," he murmured, his hand now stroking her hair.

Hermione sniffed twice, and Sirius lowered her to the ground. He tilted her head up, and gently brushed the rest of the tears off. Hermione gazed up at him, not taking her eyes from his face. He was concentrating too much at first to notice. When his eyes finally connected with hers, he froze, his hands still resting on her cheeks.

"Hermione," he said, his voice deeper than usual. He couldn't stop looking at her, nor could he even move his hands away.

"Sirius," she whispered, about to thank him. But just as she parted her lips, he stopped them with his.

* * *

As soon as Hermione left the common room, Luna counted to ten. Then she left the room, looking right and left. Once the coast was clear, she ran to the nearest broom cupboard, and thanked her lucky stars that she had practised her flying while at The Burrow over the holidays. She left the castle, and stood in the dark grounds. Before she lit her wand, she tapped her bracelet with her finger and said some words.

Immediately, she felt a pull on her hand, and mounted the broom. With a muttered "Lumos", she pushed off from the ground, and flew in the direction of the pull.

**

* * *

**

Love _F_**_reedom Writers_. Watching it with Aunty Von at the moment.**

**Well, this has been an incredibly long chapter. Sorry I left a cliffhanger with Sirius and Hermione. It'll probably mostly—if not all—be about them next chapter. I'm typing a whole lot of these chapters ahead of time, since I've got writer's block with something for uni. Funny, huh?**

**Och well! Ta for all the reviews so far, particularly my regulars. You're all lovely, and it's a pity they don't have Harry Potter fanfic conventions, so we could all meet up. Or do they? We are universally united! Woo hoo!**


	12. Killers and Kisses

"Killers and Kisses"

Hermione broke away from the kiss first, even though she could have continued to kiss him forever. Her breathing was ragged, her chest rising and falling shakily. Sirius still didn't move his hands from her cheeks.

"What is it?" he asked. His eyes were hypnotising. Hermione felt that she couldn't breathe anymore, and she sagged against him. He caught her up in his arms again, and she rested her head and hands on his chest.

"I… I love you, Sirius," she said. Standing on her toes, she kissed him gently.

Sirius pushed her up against the wall, deepening the kiss. She gasped for air when her back hit the stone, but whole-heartedly surrendered herself, slipping her arms up around his neck. He pressed his body against hers so that she couldn't move anywhere.

"Sirius," she moaned, and he pulled away.

"Not now," he said. "I can't do this. Not to you."

"Then when?" Hermione asked.

"Don't feel about me this way," he told her. Before she could reply, he left her behind, hurrying upstairs to his rooms.

With a sigh, Hermione went up the stairs, too, and made her way to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

An hour after Peter died, Ginny was still running. She knew that she couldn't stop, didn't dare stop. She had noticed the magical tug on the bracelet, but thought that maybe it was just the separation from the other bracelet that made it go 'funny'. It was disconcerting, nonetheless, and she couldn't wait to get home.

Why, oh _why_ did I never learn how to make a portkey? she thought. And why did they have to be so far from any fireplace connected to the Floo network? Hell, I should have just brought a broom.

* * *

Luna stopped for a rest, and to have some soup at the nearest village to Hogsmeade. Her travelling cloak, which she had worn all day because of the cold weather, had a nice, warm hood. She made sure that it was up when she ordered, and tried to make her voice a bit lower.

When she set out again, she noticed that the bracelet was pulling in a slightly different direction.

She must be moving at a very fast pace, she thought.

* * *

"We should tell the boys, shouldn't we?" Dumbledore asked Minerva. They were alone in his office. She nodded.

"Then have the right to know," she said. "Considering the relationship between Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley."

"And between Mr. Longbottom and Miss Lovegood."

"And between Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger," Minerva finished off. "Not that she's missing, but it would help him to know that she's safe."

"Ah," Dumbledore said. "Now, I'm not so sure about a relationship between them."

"Why not?" Minerva asked, surprised. "I was sure…"

"He's hardly her intellectual equal, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Nor is he mature enough for her. Also, I think she regards him more as a brother than as… a love interest, really."

"Well, he'd still need to know about his sister," Minerva said, sticking to the point.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "But we'll wait until tomorrow morning. Then she can use the mirror to contact them."

* * *

Minerva approached Hermione during breakfast.

"Hermione, you'll need to tell Harry, Ron, and Neville about… the missing students," she said. Her own voice caught a bit. If something happened to Ginny, she'd never forgive herself for not taking proper care of the child. And Hermione was a worry. She looked nervous, which had always seemed alien to the level-headed girl. Except when it came to exams. Was it her workload?

"Oh, and Remus and Sirius will want to speak to you, too," she said, before returning to the staff table. Hermione somehow stopped her jaw from dropping open. When she turned back to the Gryffindor table, it was a shock to realise that Ginny wasn't there, and that she suddenly felt very alone.

With Sirius' rejection on top of that, she was so overwhelmed that she forgot where she was. She laid her arms on the table, placed her head on her arms, and just cried.

* * *

"Good grief, Minerva," Severus said, watching Hermione sob. "What did you say to the girl?"

Minerva turned around, and her heart clenched at the sight of her favourite student crying, all alone at the table.

"Her friends are all gone, Merlin knows where," she said. "Maybe she should drop a few subjects. It all seems to be getting too much for her. If ever we get that book, it will be a good excuse to give her a break from all her schoolwork."

"She won't forgive you for that," Remus said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sirius, who suspected that she was crying about him, remained silent, just stirring his porridge aimlessly.

* * *

"They're _what_?" the boys shouted at the mirror.

"Missing," Hermione said. "Ginny went after Pansy, and Luna went after Ginny. There's a broom missing from one of the cupboards downstairs, near the Ravenclaw common room. We think that Luna took it."

"Good thing she had all that practise when she was with you over the holidays," Neville said to Ron.

"Send us word as soon as they get back," Harry said.

"How's the hunt going?" Hermione asked.

"Two down," Ron said, pleased to be able to talk about something cheerful.

"Good, that's… that's good," Hermione said. "Well, I'd better let you get back to your work, hadn't I?"

"Thanks for holding the fort there, Hermione," Harry said. "Over and out."

Hermione sighed when they 'hung up' the mirrors. They hadn't even bothered to ask how she was.

Better go and have that meeting, then, she thought, and she sighed as she left to go and meet Remus and Sirius at the library.

* * *

Ginny's legs were killing her. She could barely breathe anymore. Her desperate feeling of self-preservation came purely from the fact that she had promised a dead man that she'd look after a book, and because the Order of the Phoenix needed said book.

She threw herself behind a tree when she saw a light flying through the sky towards her, quickly turning off the light on her own wand. She had left two days ago.

"Ginny!" she heard a familiar voice cry.

"Luna?" she mouthed, unable to speak. Her throat was roar from hard breathing. Her friendship bracelet began to pull desperately towards the girl, and she realised. It was acting like a tracking device.

"Ginny, where are you?" Luna called.

"Luna! I'm here!" Ginny croaked, stumbling out into her friend's waiting arms. The girls embraced for what felt like forever.

"How long did it take you to get here?" Ginny asked finally.

"Two days," Luna said. "At least I had the presence of mind to bring money."

"We have to get out of here," Ginny said. "They'll be after me. I've got the book."

Luna's eyes lit up when she Ginny showed her the book.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Now climb on, and let's get going."

**

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**

Hurrah! Now things are turning their way. At least, for the Order & Co. Not so much for poor old Hermione. Still, she gets the girls back in the next chapter, so yay.

**Keep reading!**


	13. The Code and the Corpse

"The Code and the Corpse"

Ginny and Luna arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the early hours of the morning, four and a half days since they had both left. As soon as they landed, they ran inside to return the broomstick to the cupboard, and then bolted upstairs to the Gryffindor common room to find Hermione.

The girl in question was sitting in an armchair in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames. It had been four days since she had kissed Sirius, four days since he had rejected her. It had been an all-round, truly terrible day for her. Were things ever going to be right again?

"Hermione!" Ginny shrieked when she saw the older girl. Hermione turned around, hardly daring to believe that her friend was back.

"Ginny? _Luna_?" she cried, and they all rushed to each other, embracing and crying like there was no tomorrow. A few intrigued Gryffindors wandered down from their rooms at all the noise, but decided that it was too early, and went back to bed.

"Where the _hell_ have you two been?" Hermione asked as they all sat on the floor.

"Oh, I don't even want to think about it," Ginny moaned, her head in her hands.

"Show her what you've got," Luna said, and Ginny perked up.

"Oh yeah," she said, and she pulled the book out from under her cloak. Hermione's jaw fell open. She was just speechless. The younger girls grinned at the phenomenon.

"Happy now?" Ginny asked. Hermione just nodded.

* * *

"Remus! Sirius!" Hermione called as she ran down the corridor to the library. She could see them approaching the doors, and they turned around at her voice. Both of them lit up to see the missing girls behind her. Ginny and Luna both ran into the men's arms, and Hermione stood back, unable to stop grinning.

"We missed you so much," Ginny said, her voice muffled in the four-way hug.

"Glad to have you back," Remus said.

"Oh, and look what Ginny found," Hermione sang, holding out the book. Both the men were gob-smacked.

"Where…" Sirius started to say, but he trailed off.

"He told me to give it to you, Sirius," Ginny said, taking the book from Hermione and handing it to him. "He told me to make sure that you got it."

"Who did, Ginny?" Remus asked, as Sirius looked at the book, confused.

"Peter Pettigrew," Ginny said, and everybody gasped.

"Did you even think to check it for curses?" Sirius asked her severely.

"I was more concerned about the fact that he was _dying_," Ginny said, glaring at him.

"Dying?" Hermione asked.

"Fenrir Greyback attacked him in the forest I was walking besides," Ginny explained.

"Full moon," Remus said. He knew _he_ had felt lousy that night, but with the Wolfsbane potion that Severus knocked up for him, it hadn't been too bad.

"He lost so much blood," Ginny said. "It was lucky I was there. He gave me the book, and told me to give it to you." She looked again at Sirius, and he just nodded at her.

"Thank you," he finally said.

"Sleeky Constant is dead," Ginny continued. "And Peter saw Pansy, but he doesn't know where she is."

"No going looking for her anymore, you hear?" Hermione said, wiping tears away from her face. "Just what were you planning to do if you found her with all the Death Eaters? Fight your way in to get her, and hope to fight your way back out?"

"Never mind all that, now," Ginny said, trying to dismiss it. But Hermione wasn't going to let her get away _that_ easily.

"Do you know how worried we've all been?" she said, her voice getting louder. "How worried the boys have been?"

"You told the boys?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"We had to!" Hermione said. "What did you expect? And _you_, Luna," she added, turning to the other girl. "I would have expected more from a Ravenclaw. How did you even know where to find her?"

"Our friendship bracelets," Luna said simply, holding out her wrist for Hermione to see.

"Ah, you're back," said a voice from behind them, and they all looked to see Dumbledore approaching them. "And you found the book."

"Well, it looks like Peter Pettigrew stole it from the Death Eaters," Ginny said. "He asked if I was from Hogwarts. It seems he finally committed his act of Gryffindor bravery. He died in my arms." This alone overcame her, and she burst into a fresh set of tears.

"You three," Dumbledore said to Remus, Sirius, and Hermione, "get started on translating the book. I assume it _is_ in code?"

Sirius flipped through a few pages, and nodded.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore continued. She looked at him. "You've been relieved from your classes until further notice, so that you have the time to work on breaking the code. We've all agreed that this is necessary," he added, when Hermione opened her mouth. "Severus included."

"Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, as if to say '_That_ Severus?'

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "And you two," he said to the younger girls, "you come with me. You need to make a report on what you've been doing these past hundred hours or so."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, Professor."

They followed him meekly, and Hermione stood there. Miss classes? But it _was_ for a book, and it was just another way of improving her learning. Plus, it was for a good reason, a very good reason.

"Unfortunately, they've got a bit of a headstart," Remus said as they all sat at a table.

"Never mind," Hermione said, pulling out some parchment and ink. "First of all, is the code in any known language?"

"Hardly," Sirius said, and he showed her a sample page, full of little pictograms, which while basic enough, were unfamiliar. Hermione had certainly never seen them in any book she had ever read.

"The difficult comes in knowing whether they stand for words or for letters," she murmured, copying down the first line, and then tapping the quill on her teeth.

"That's the _only_ difficulty?" Sirius asked jokingly.

"Well, the most commonly used letter in the English language is 'e', and the most commonly used word is 'the'," she said. "Following that reasoning, whichever symbol is used the most could either mean 'e' or 'the'. Of course, in the Wizarding world, it would be slightly different. Are there any pictures?" she asked, and they began to check through the book, looking for a picture of the veil.

* * *

After his meeting with Ginny and Luna, Dumbledore sent the girls back to their common rooms so that they could get some sleep after their long journeys. He sent letters to all of the teachers explaining that they would have that day off, and that Hermione would now be working on decoding a book for him. She was not to attend classes until that work was done. Satisfied, he then gathered the members of the Order who were free at that moment. Once they were in the office, he told them what had transpired.

"So," Alastor Moody said, "what do you expect us to do about it, Albus? That book can't be used until it's translated."

"I think you should all try and locate the corpse of Sleeky Constant," Dumbledore said.

"To what end?" Severus asked. He was annoyed at having been taken away from his classroom, where he was setting up for the first lesson.

"To find anything that may help us find his shop," Albus said. "Have any of you any idea where he lived?" They all shook their heads. "Precisely. We need to find him, and find his books. He may have something that could help with understanding the book."

"Well, we'll do our best, Albus," Moody said. "Shouldn't take too long."

Dumbledore just nodded and, one by one, they all flooed out of his office, leaving him alone, and staring into space.

* * *

Moody was right. It didn't take long for the Aurors to track down the book seller. When they found him, they did some spells to find out where he may have apparated from, but were unsuccessful. Clearly, he didn't want his shop to be found. And now they couldn't transact any business with him to get his location.

Disheartened, they took his body to the Ministry, and set about contacting Dumbledore to tell him that, indeed, they had failed.

* * *

That was during breakfast when he got their owl. Dumbledore was subsequently depressed by the lack of success. He stared at his toast, so despondent that even Severus felt bad for him.

"Buck up, Albus," Filius Flitwick said in his high voice. "Everything will turn out alright in the end."

"And you managed to get them to have some breakfast," Minerva pointed out, indicating Sirius and Remus, who were at the staff table with them, and then indicating Hermione, listening to the chatter of her friends at the Gryffindor table.

"They'll certainly need their energy up," Dumbledore said. He didn't notice an owl drop something onto the table in front of Hermione. In fact, the only one at the staff table still looking at her was Sirius. He was mulling over his dilemma. It wasn't until the kiss that they shared that he had realised his feelings for her. Sighing, he poked at the egg on his plate, not feeling very hungry. At least, not in that way.

"Professor!" Everybody looked up as Hermione ran down between the tables, and hurried up the stairs at the end of the Great Hall to the staff table. She almost crashed into said table, not slowing quite enough in time.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, standing up.

"It's a letter," she said, panting slightly. "From Pansy Parkinson."

"What does it say?" Minerva asked, a hand over her heart.

"She's at Sleeky's shop," Hermione said.

"Does she give the address?" Dumbledore asked, his voice remaining calm, but his insides doing a quick-step.

"No," Hermione said. "But she's put a spell on the letter. We need to put the letter underneath the pillow on her bed, then I have to tap the pillow with my wand, and say her name three times, including her middle name. Of course, I don't know her middle name, but she says that her friends do."

"Ingenious," Filius said, holding out his hand for the letter. "I'd no idea the girl had it in her."

"You should give more credit to the Slytherins," Severus said, arching an eyebrow. "We are quite capable of surprising people with our academic abilities."

"No one could ever think otherwise of you, Professor," Hermione said sweetly, and both Sirius and Remus choked on their drinks. Severus glared at her, and Minerva smiled. No one else noticed what she had said.

"Well, I think we had better go and do this right away, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, "particularly as Miss Parkinson has specified that it be you who casts the spell. We'll also send you to find her once we have the address."

"Yes, headmaster."

"We'll take her," Sirius volunteered. "We're her fellow researchers, after all."

"Very well," Dumbledore said.

"I want to go, too," Narcissa said, speaking for the first time. Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course," he said. "You have every right."

"I'll go and ask about Pansy's middle name," Hermione said, and she went to the Slytherin table.

"Things really _are_ turning our way, aren't they?" Remus asked.

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: no, I own nobody. Unless you count stuffed toys, like the one I've got under my left arm at the moment while I type this. Other than that, I've got diddly-squat.

**So yeah. Everyone enjoying this so far?**

**And I shall do what I probably should have done long ago, and implore you for more reviews. I don't mind, really, but it's the customary thing to do, I believe, and I don't like to be left out. (That explains the **_**Pride and Prejudice**_** thing…)**

**This is the dreaded chapter thirteen, so here's hoping you liked it! **


	14. Nearness and Nagini

"Nearness and Nagini"

The Searchers didn't know what to say to the news that Peter Pettigrew was dead. They were, naturally, very happy about the book's recovery, and the news that Pansy Parkinson was at Sleeky's place, looking after the book. They urged Hermione to let the know as soon as she had more information for them.

"Where have you got up to? In the hunt, I mean," Hermione said. The boys looked at each other and grinned.

"We've got five so far," Ron said.

"There are just two left," Neville added.

"The horcrux in Nagini… and me," Harry said. They were all silent for a few moments.

"Well, everyone will be delighted to hear your news," Hermione said.

"We think that Lord Voldemort left her at Riddle House," Neville told Hermione. "So we're going there next."

"To think that we were so close to where Pettigrew died," Harry said. It was true. They had been quite near to the forest, and Harry was upset at having missed Ginny while she was so close by.

"I'm more concerned that you were near Greyback," Hermione said.

"We'd better get going, Hermione," Ron said. "The sooner we're finished, the sooner we can return to Hogwarts."

"And your studies," Hermione added.

"…Or we could take our time, not rush things," Ron said quickly. Hermione laughed, and they broke the connection. It took her a few moments to realise that, one again, they had neglected to ask her how she was going.

* * *

"Yet another possibility to cross off the list," Hermione said grumpily, running a thick line of ink along the piece of parchment. They were working on the basis that the pictograms were of letters first, since in the English language there were only twenty-six.

"But we're still making progress," Remus said gently. "We've got Sleeky's address now, and can go to his shop tomorrow. That'll give you—in fact, all of us—a nice break from this, and we may find something to help with the decoding. We'll also get Pansy back, which will cheer up the others no end."

Hermione nodded. She felt tired, and the men noticed this.

"Go to bed, Hermione," Sirius said, reaching out to pat her arm, but pulling back at the last minute. He just didn't know how to act around her since they had shared that passionate kiss. Remus pretended not to notice the action, busying himself with collecting up the pieces of parchment.

"We'll meet in the Entrance Hall tomorrow at quarter to nine, after a quick breakfast," he told them. "Hermione, do you know how you'll identify yourself to Pansy?"

"I talked to her friends," she said, screwing up her face a bit in thought. Sirius loved how cute her nose looked scrunched up. He quickly suppressed that feeling, and mentally shook his head. "They gave me a couple of memories. But I've also got the notes that she left for us, just in case she needs extra proof."

"Good, good," Remus replied. "Now, Sirius is right. You're tired. Go to bed."

With a yawn, Hermione willingly left the library.

"Okay, what is it?" Remus said.

"What's what?" Sirius asked, avoiding his friend's eyes.

"You and Hermione. There's something going on."

"No, Remus, there really isn't," Sirius said, leaning his head on one of his hands, elbow propped up on the table. "I… I kissed her. I shouldn't have. I know that."

"You _do _know she fancies you, don't you?" Remus asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"I got that impression from the kiss," Sirius muttered. Remus chuckled.

"You may have to wait, but it'll be worth it," he said. Sirius looked up at him, and noticed the twinkle.

"You're turning into Dumbledore," he told Remus.

"Not such a bad thing, surely?"

"It can be," a deep voice said, and both Researchers jumped.

"Cripes, Severus," Remus said. "Don't do that."

"Lupin's right, though," Severus told Sirius. "Surely you didn't think that I saw you two the other night?"

Sirius groaned. He folded his arms on the table and placed his head on top of them.

"Why? Why you?" he asked.

"You _were_ near my room," Severus said, smirking. "Your secret's safe with me. And I do confess that I got a—kick?—out of seeing Sirius back finally reject a girl. So harshly, too. Just running away. Where's that infamous Gryffindor courage? Still," he added, as Sirius' glare grew, "I can't blame you. Imagine being with the little know-it-all. I really cannot blame you for running away."

"Don't you _dare_ insult her," Sirius growled, his voice low. He reached for his wand, but Severus already had his out, pointing it at Sirius' throat.

"Getting defensive, Black?" Severus hissed. "I really wouldn't recommend trying to curse me. You're dealing with a former Death Eater here."

"Oh, believe me," Sirius said. "I could never forget that."

"How very wise," Severus said, lowering his wand. "You really _are_ sensible. Not only do you watch your back, but you reject the right women. Well, she's not really a woman, is she? Just a chit of a girl." Smirking, he returned to the shelves were he had been hiding while listening to their conversation. Not to mention keeping an eye on Sirius and Hermione. Since she had been so sincere and kind to him, he had felt strangely protective towards her.

As soon as he had left the men, Sirius waited about two seconds. He saw that Remus was finished packing; and, as he wasn't in charge of the book that night, he left the library abruptly. Remus watched him go thoughtfully, packing the book carefully away with the parchment in his bag, before speaking.

"Severus?"

A sigh. "Yes, Lupin?"

"Why did you say those things about Hermione? She's always defended you, and you seem to have been a bit… I suppose _nicer_ to her these days."

"Lupin," Severus said, re-emerging from the shelves. "You're noticed what's been going on between them. It's true; I don't want Hermione's feeling to be hurt. I don't like Black's treatment of her. But to make her happy, I'm willing to push him closer to her."

"I see," Remus said, realising that Severus had just been riling Sirius up to get him to go after Hermione. He didn't exactly approve of his methods, but the intention was better than he could have ever expected from a Slytherin.

"However," Severus continued, "if he hurts her, he'll be on the other side of the room in half a second."

"I see," Remus repeated.

"Do tell him, won't you?" Severus said, smiling sweetly. Remus gulped at the look, and watched as Severus left, leaving him alone in the diary. He hoisted his bag onto his back, and returned to his rooms, locking the door behind him with the keys Madame Pince had so reluctantly leant to him.

* * *

"Hermione," Sirius murmured, running towards the Gryffindor common room. He saw her walking there very slowly. Severus' words had really got to him. "Hermione!" he called, and she turned slowly.

"Yes, S-Sirius?" she said, waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said breathlessly, joining her. "I…"

"Yes?" she said, pretending impatience to mask her fear.

"I shouldn't have… let you walk back here. Alone," he said, stumbling over his words out of nervousness.

"Oh," Hermione said, somewhat relieved, but also a bit said. In fact, annoyed, too.

"And I'm… sorry for the way I treated you," he said, his voice dropping as he hung his head.

"No, it's my fault," Hermione said, a tear meandering down her cheek.

"I'm the responsible adult," Sirius said, but that wasn't the right thing to say.

"Who cares about that?" she asked, her voice a bit loud. Sirius held up his hands to try and calm her down. "I don't! Age doesn't matter. I'm in _love_ with you, Sirius Black. Doesn't that mean _anything_ to you? Or do you not care about love?"

"Of _course_ I do," he said, keeping his voice quiet, hoping that she'd follow suit.

"I really think you don't care about anybody else's feelings," she said. Her voice was no quieter, and the tears were now streaming down. "Nobody else's but your own. I really don't matter, do I?"

"Oh, you foolish girl," Sirius growled. To shut her up, he pushed her up against the wall again, inside a dark alcove. "Why can't you keep your voice down?"

"Make me," Hermione said. With that, Sirius pressed his lips against hers, hard. She kissed back with all the passion inside her, wrapping her arms up around his neck once more. Sirius' arms went around her waist, pulling her close while at the same time pressing her against the stone.

As the minutes went by, they broke apart a few times for a few breaths of oxygen, but the passion nearly drove them mad, and they had to resume kissing. Sirius' hands soon found themselves working their way underneath Hermione's blouse, touching the bare skin of her back.

"Oh, Sirius," she murmured as their lips left each other again for air. "Don't stop kissing me now."

"Unless you want to keel over from no breathing, I'll keep stopping," he whispered into her ear. The sound, and the feel of his breath, raised goosebumps on her skin. He kissed the earlobe lightly, and then kissed her behind the ear. Soon, the kisses moved down her neck. Hermione tilted her had slightly, and Sirius brushed her hair out of the way. She brought her hands to the top of her blouse, and undid the first two buttons so that the kisses could go down further. He growled, and she shivered.

"Keep going," she moaned, and Sirius complied. His hands went further up under her shirt, and he brought them around to the front.

"Not here," he said, just as Hermione gasped at the touch. "My rooms. Now."

Hermione just nodded, taking his hand as he led her to his quarters.

**

* * *

**

Okay,

_**now**_** things are heating up a bit. I've never written any erotica fiction, and you sure as heck aren't getting any of that, so I apologise to anyone who might have been expecting more. There shall be the aftermath in the next chapter.**

**AbbyH-x: hope you've enjoyed this chapter, then!**

**Keep the reviews coming, everyone. Keep the reviews coming!**

**The reason for two chapters being posted yesterday was because I couldn't remember whether or not I posted in the morning. Now that I've only got one exam left for uni, the pressure's been lifted, and I can write more. Maybe I'll have the whole story posted before London. Hurrah! **


	15. Pansy Parkinson and the Prophet

"Pansy Parkinson and the _Prophet_"

When Sirius woke the next morning, he felt disoriented. Glancing down, he smiled when he saw the sleeping form of a naked woman. Ah, it felt like old times. But then the memories of last night leapt out at him, and he remembered who the woman was.

"Hermione, wake up," he said, shaking her none too gently.

"Mm-yes?" she asked, turning over slowly, brushing the sleep from her eyes. As soon as she saw Sirius, she smiled benignly. "Morning."

"You have to go," Sirius said, trying not to panic.

"What? Why?" Hermione asked, now fully awake.

"You shouldn't be here," he answered, hanging his head slightly. "I can't believe it. I'm so sorry I did this to you." He wiped the back of his hand across his face. "You're just a child."

"Well, clearly not just a child," she side, trying to suppress a grin as she too remembered the night before. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing up against him. Sirius was very tempted to ignore his subconscious and continue where they left off before sleep claimed them. It was especially difficult to ignore Hermione's teeth when they began to nip gently at his neck.

"No," he said, wanting to shaking his head. He wanted to push her away.

"Don't make me go, Sirius," she whispered, her hand tilting his chin towards her. She kissed him, and he kissed her back. "I just want to stay here with you. Forever."

"And miss breakfast?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

"And classes," she said, nuzzling against his chest now. It was the mention of classes that made Sirius' decision.

"Go, just go," he said, pushing Hermione away, trying not to be too rough.

"I won't," she said petulantly. "You can't make me."

"Hermione, you're still underage," he said. "Please, just go. Have breakfast, go to your classes. Forget me."

"How can I forget you when I'm working with you?" Hermione asked. "And I haven't got classes anyway, because we still haven't cracked that code yet."

"Oh no," Sirius said, and he quickly cast a charm to find out the time. "We only have an hour before we have to meet Remus."

"Plenty of time," Hermione growled, pulling Sirius backwards onto the bed with surprising force.

"Hermione," he said fiercely. "Put on your clothes, floo to your common room, and get changed. Then go and have breakfast, and I will meet you at quarter to nine. Go!"

Startled at Sirius' tone, and suddenly regretting the night before, Hermione nodded and complied. As soon as she had left the room through the fireplace, Sirius fell back onto the bed with a groan, reliving last night's activities. What made it worse—or perhaps better—was that he was also her first. He, Harry's godfather, had made love to Harry's best friend. The Gryffindor princess.

Having a quick shower, he got dressed and hurried down to the hall for breakfast.

* * *

Hermione wolfed down her toast, not caring who saw. She didn't care about anything anymore. The sooner they had the book deciphered, she was going back to her studies with a vengeance, and would put all thoughts of Sirius Bloody Black out of her mind.

"Going to find Pansy today, aren't you?" Ginny said, sitting down on Hermione's right.

"Yes," the older girl muttered, and she took a swig of pumpkin juice.

"At least they're going about it the right way," Luna said, sitting down next to Ginny, "unlike some people we know."

"Yes, yes, yes," Ginny said, waving her hand. "Anything interesting in the _Prophet_ today, Hermione?" she continued, changing the subject.

"New Minister for Magic," Hermione said dismissively, passing over the newspaper.

"Rufus Scrimgeour," Ginny said. "About time someone replaced Fudge. I'll owl Dad, find out more about him."

"I doubt he'll know much," Hermione said.

"Oh, I don't know," Luna said. "It's amazing what you can find out in the Ministry."

"We'd have better luck finding out from Rita Bloody Skeeter," Hermione said. "Why? Because she's not a man. Men never know what they want. They're so _bloody_ indecisive!"

With that, she slammed down her goblet, through her cutlery onto her plate, and stormed out of the hall.

"What the…?" Ginny said, trailing off as she watched Hermione leave.

"Boy troubles, I'm guessing," Luna said, her voice as dreamy as usual.

* * *

"Why is Miss Granger leaving the hall in such a manner, Black?" Severus asked in a low voice.

"How the hell should I know?" Sirius said mutinously.

"Because of your… relationship," Severus said, buttering some toast calmly.

"Just what do you mean by that, _Snivellus_?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius," Remus said warningly. Severus was beginning to glower, which was never a good sign. Add to that the fact that he hated to be called 'Snivellus'.

"I don't know _what_ you're implying," Sirius said in a low growl. "But whatever it is, cut. It. Out." He left through the staff entrance with a bang of the door. The rest of the staff looked up. Remus shook his head at Severus who just looked at him innocently.

"What?" he asked, and Remus sighed.

"This is going to be interesting," he muttered.

* * *

After he finished breakfast, Remus went out into the hall. Because everyone else was still having breakfast, it was virtually empty. In fact, it _was_ empty. Checking the time, he saw that it was nearly quarter to.

Where are they? he thought, and his question was answered when he heard angry whispers from an alcove behind the stairs.

"You can't just sleep with me and then pretend it never happened." That was Hermione's voice. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I'm not pretending," Sirius whispered back. "But I'll be in so much trouble if anyone finds out. Surely you don't want me to return to Azkaban?"

"This isn't _about_ the trouble," Hermione hissed. "It's about the fact that you unceremoniously kicked me out of the bedroom this morning."

"Oh, it wasn't like that and you _know_ it!"

Remus hurried away as quietly as his feet would allow, and then began whistling a jaunty tune softly, making it louder. Eventually he called out their names. They soon appeared from behind the stairs, and he feigned surprise.

"Ah, there you are!" he said cheerfully. "Well, come along. We'll go to the gates and apparate from there. Have you got your licence yet, Hermione?"

"No," she said, her voice emotionless.

"Well," Remus said, testing the waters, "you'll just have to side-along apparate with Sirius, then." They both stiffened, and glanced at each other very quickly.

"Or I could apparate with you," Hermione said.

"Whatever you like," Remus said, and he linked arms with her as they left the building.

* * *

They apparated in front of Sleeky's shop. It was very non-descript. You wouldn't even know it was there if you weren't going there for a reason. Perhaps that was the point.

"Let's hope she gave us the right address," Hermione said, and she walked up to the door, and knocked. After a few moments, the blind was lifted, and Pansy's face appeared.

"Hermione?" she mouthed. Hermione nodded, and Pansy flung the door open. She jumped into the Gryffindor's arms.

"Oh, thank Merlin you came," she said, before she immediately drew back. "Oh! I forgot. Tell me something."

"Here are the notes you left for us when you left," she said, handing them over to Pansy, who nodded. "Your middle name is Crustacea." Pansy wrinkled up her nose, but nodded again. "Last birthday Millicent Bulstrode gave you a green ring with a red rose in the centre. You actually liked the red rose, even though red is a Gryffindor colour."

"Okay," Pansy said, stepping back into the shopping, and waving them through.

"Oh, wow," Remus said, gazing at the books in the store. Hermione's jaw dropped as well. There were thousands of books. The shop was magically enlarged inside, and there were staircases going up to a higher level.

"How long would it take to go through all of these and find what we want?" Sirius asked, also amazed by the number of books.

"I can help you with that," Pansy said, surprising her visitors. "I sneaked a look at the book Sleeky had, and saw the code inside it. Since then, I've been working my way through all of these, and found three books that may be able to help. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that has the code in it specifically, not that I recognised."

"But it's still a big help," Remus said. "Thank you, Miss Parkinson."

"Oh," she said, blushing. "Call me 'Pansy'."

"Thank you, _Pansy_," Hermione said, enveloping the girl in a hug. "And now you can return to Hogwarts with us. Mrs. Malfoy is going spare without someone around who was so closely connected to Draco."

"I know, but I can't go back yet," Pansy said. "You see, I've got protective charms on all of the books, and I don't want the Death Eaters to get their hands on them."

"That's right; the Death Eaters," Hermione said. "What _happened_ to you?"

"Look, we'll get members of the Order to look after the store," Sirius offered. "That way you can return to Hogwarts with us."

"Thank you," Pansy said, sniffling a little at the prospect of going home. Sirius summoned his patronus, and sent a message to Mad-Eye Moody. They would wait until the arrived with whoever he could round up.

Meanwhile, Remus was looking at the books that Pansy had found for them. "These are great," he said. "Well done, Pansy."

"Thanks," Pansy said, blushing again.

"Have you got through all of the books?" Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.

"I think I might visit the Hogwarts library more often after this," she said. "The books have kept me sane; they gave me a purpose." Hermione nodded.

"I'll still go through them," Remus said. "See if there's anything the Hogwarts library hasn't got."

"Well, I'll have to lift the charms first," Pansy said, and she began waving her wand, muttering incantations. Eventually, satisfied, she nodded.

"It's fine now," she said. Hermione kissed her on the cheek, and went to join Remus in looking through the books. She knew the library as well as he did.

"If I'd known we'd be doing this, I'd have asked Severus to join us," Remus said. "And Madame Pince, naturally. They both know the library as well as we do."

"They could come back here another time," Hermione suggested. Remus nodded.

"Moody's here!" Sirius called. He asked Moody to identify himself; and once satisfied, let him into the shop. Tonks followed, and she made a beeline for Remus. Kingsley couldn't make it.

"Be careful, Tonks," Remus said, worried about letting the clumsy witch near all the precious books.

"Perhaps you and Moody could ask Pansy about the protective spells she used," Hermione suggested, and Tonks trotted off to join them. She and Remus both breathed quiet sighs of relief; but Hermione tensed up again when Sirius joined them. Their hands brushed when he handed her a book from a high shelf at one point, and Hermione nearly dropped what she was holding.

"I think this is a job that definitely requires more than one trip, and two more pairs of eyes," Remus said. "Like you suggested."

"Well, then we'd better take Pansy and go," Sirius said. "Do you have things covered here now, Moody?" he asked when they reached the front of the shop again.

"Course I do, Black," he said. "More Aurors are arriving at this moment, as you can see," and he pointed at the window. Sure enough, a few more people arrived.

"Tonks, would you like to come back to Hogwarts with us, and carry some of these books?" Remus asked. "Then Hermione can take Pansy straight to Dumbledore, and we can take these to the library."

"Sure," Tonks said happily, and Remus handed her two of the books that Pansy had found for them. Once outside, Hermione side-along apparated with Remus, and Pansy with Sirius. They hurried up to the gates of Hogwarts, pushed through them, and went up to the castle. By the time they reached the Entrance Hall, classes were well underway, and it was quiet. Pansy was nearly running, so eager was she to be back. When she would have run down to the dungeons to the Slytherin common room straight away, Hermione pulled her up the stairs, reminding her of their destination.

"See you in the library," she called to the others. "See you later, Tonks!"

"Right-o, Sparky," Tonks said, saluting Hermione. The books nearly fell from her hands, and Remus had to steady her. With a smothered giggle, Hermione waved, and then raced after Pansy who was halfway up the stairs.

"I'm home!" the Slytherin girl sang, dancing down the corridor, twirling around.

"Well, I must confess, Pansy," Hermione said, watching her, amused. "I never thought I'd live to see you dancing around Hogwarts' hallways."

"I missed this place so much," Pansy said, hugging a suit of armour. "It's true, what the song says. You really _don't_ know what you have until it's gone." Hermione raised her eyebrows at the fact that Pansy was referring to a Muggle rock song, but she kept quiet.

When they reached Dumbledore's office, they were surprised to find him outside, waiting with Severus.

"I don't have a class this morning," he said, when Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bet you'd rather be marking bad essays," she said, unable to stop herself. Severus glared at her, but Dumbledore merely chuckled.

"Come inside, my dears," he said, waving them inside. "Miss Parkinson, it's good to see you safe and sound."

"Yes, Headmaster," she said, subdued. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Explain inside," Dumbledore said, and once they were seated, he turned to her expectantly.

"Well, I was so upset over Draco's… death," she said, her eyes tearing up. Hermione clutched her hand, and it was Severus' turn to raise an eyebrow at this show of inter-house friendliness. Still, what could you expect from a Gryffindor.

"Why did you leave without permission?" he asked silkily, and Hermione shot a glare at him. "Do you want to lose house points, Miss Granger?" he said dangerously, and she looked down at her shoes, embarrassed.

"I left to find the people who killed him, so that I could make them pay," Pansy said, trying to remain calm. She didn't realise how hard she was squeezing Hermione's hand, but the girl didn't complain. "I thought Sleeky might help. He's friends with my parents; or, at least, he _was_." The tears threatened to spill again. "He had heard from them; they were offering him a lot of money. I got the note that they sent by owl." She pulled it out of her pocket, and handed it to Dumbledore. He looked over it, and then finally looked back at her, and smiled.

"Do continue, Miss Parkinson," he said, and she nodded. She looked at Hermione who smiled back, and that gave Pansy the strength to go on.

"Well, they killed him when we got there, and then took me away. They were going to use me for… entertainment," she said. That finally brought the tears on, and she buried her head in Hermione's shoulder. Hermione put both her arms around Pansy, and held her close.

"Maybe Mrs. Malfoy should be here to hear this?" she suggested to Dumbledore.

"Miss Parkinson can tell her in her own time," he said, shaking his head.

"What happened next?" Severus asked, his hard voice a reminder of why they were there.

"I remember everything going black, and then waking in a cave. I didn't know it was a cave at first, of course." Her voice caught, and she sniffed before continuing. "I heard my mother's voice, and then my father's voice. They told the others who I was. Mother was particularly angry at me for joining them, but Father was even angrier when I told him why I was there. I accuse them of killing Draco, and he… he…" Hermione squeezed her shoulders, and she continued. "He said that it was _necessary_, because Mr. Malfoy was going to, and I quote, 'spill the beans' on the lot of them."

"Here," Severus muttered, dangling a tissue in Hermione's face. She smiled at him gratefully, before handing it to Pansy, who delicately wiped away the tears with it. Severus settled back in his chair.

"They had the book, and were looking over it. I heard quills scratching on parchment, and realised that they were copying down the pages with the veil on it. Once they were finished, they set about trying to decipher it."

"Did they succeed?" Hermione asked, horrified.

"Not while I was there," Pansy said grimly.

"So how did you escape?" Dumbledore asked.

"I didn't," Pansy said. "I was let go."

"By your parents?" Severus asked.

"By… by Peter Pettigrew," Pansy said. The others looked at each other. "He stole the book while the others were asleep, and then let me go. He took me with him into a forest, running as quickly as we could. He lit a fire there, and gave me some floo powder. He told me to go to Sleeky's shop, and protect the books there. I asked if he wanted me to take the book, and he said that he had to get it to Hogwarts, and that he didn't want to endanger me. By then, it was really dark, and the moon was out."

"Full moon," Hermione said.

"Yes," Pansy said. She got out of Hermione's arms, and looked at her. "How did you know?"

"Uh… don't you remember? Remus Lupin is a werewolf." When Pansy seemed to accept that, Hermione breathed an internal sigh of relief.

"Well, I did what he told me to do, and just as I was about to disappear, I thought I heard a wolf. I just hope it wasn't the others coming after him. But then, you wouldn't have the book, would you? Oh. You _do_ have it, don't you? Or did I ask you that?"

"We _do_ have the book," Hermione said.

"Where's Peter, then?" Pansy asked, lighting up. "I have to thank him for saving my life."

"He… it was a werewolf," Hermione said. "Fenrir Greyback got him. Before he died, Peter Pettigrew gave the book to Ginny Weasley, who had left Hogwarts to search for you."

"She what?" Pansy asked. "Have all you Gryffindors gone mad? I thought we were supposed to be at odds with you."

"Clearly things have changed, Miss Parkinson," Severus said dryly.

"Clearly," she said, amazed. "So Ginny got back here all right?"

"Yes, thanks to Luna Lovegood," Hermione said. "She went and found Ginny; who, judging by her state of health, was half-dead when Luna found her."

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused," Pansy said, hanging her head.

"Nonsense, my dear," Dumbledore said, sitting up straight. "Here. Have a lemon drop," he added, pushing the tin forwards."

"What, no Tim Tams?" Hermione asked.

"Customs," Dumbledore said, and he sighed. "And the Muggles think _they_ have problems!"

"Never mind, sir," Hermione said, a smile tweaking the corners of her mouth.

"I'll take Miss Parkinson to see Narcissa," Severus said, standing.

"And I'll go to the library," Hermione said.

"Oh, I forgot," Pansy said, and they all stopped to look at her. "One of the Death Eater sympathisers there was Vera Carstairs. She's a cipher specialist, from what I could gather. So you'd better get a move on with translating the book."

"Great," Hermione said. "Thanks, Pansy. See you at lunch, maybe?"

"Maybe," Pansy said, and she and Severus went to the fireplace. After they had flooed to the Slytherin common room, she turned to Dumbledore.

"I know," he said, sitting down again.

"Of all the cipher specialists in the world, it _had_ to be Vera Carstairs, didn't it?" Hermione grumbled, depressed.

**

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**

Wow. Long chapter. Sorry, folks, but I couldn't stop writing. How about a nice short one after this? Yes? Good.


	16. Bodies and Boys

"Bodies and Boys"

Based on the information that Pansy provided the Order with, Aurors went out to the cave where she had been held prisoner. Upon arrival, there was a growing stench. Placing Bubblehead charms on themselves, they went inside.

Corpse after corpse littered the floor of the cave. They were all Voldemort sympathisers; a check on the arms confirmed that none of them were actual Death Eaters. According to Severus, that meant that if there were only Death Eaters left on the run now, they only had to worry about eight people, including Fenrir Greyback.

* * *

In the meanwhile, the Searchers had found Riddle Manor; and, sure enough, there was a long, dark snake skin. Ron performed a locator charm, which led them upstairs to a room Harry only recognised from his dreams.

Lying in front of the fireplace was a long snake—Nagini. She was asleep, but that didn't deter the boys. Lifting a Basilisk fang, Neville plunged it into the snake. By their calculation, it was his turn to destroy a horcrux.

"So," Harry said. They all looked at each other, and then at the body of the snake, where a shrieking 'bit of soul' had flown from it, and evaporated.

"We're done, then," Ron said, and he grinned at Neville.

"Yeah, except for…" Neville said, pointing to Harry.

"Oh yeah," Ron said, and they all looked back at the snake.

"I think it's time to use the mirror again," Harry said, and they all retreated downstairs, away from the dead snake.

* * *

"Well done, you three!" Hermione exclaimed when they told her the news.

"Shh!" Madame Pince said, and Hermione mouthed an apology. Remus and Sirius snorted in amusement. Right then, they were perusing the books Pansy had found, while Hermione had been looking at one of the old books they had got from Sleeky's shop.

"Now you can come home, and help us work," Hermione continued into the mirror.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Ron said gleefully.

"Oh, you're just interested in the food," Hermione said.

"And a warm bed, and a real _roof_ over our heads," Ron said. He looked off into the distance dreamily, and it was all Hermione could do to refrain from giggling.

"We'll be back by tomorrow morning at the latest," Harry said. "Can we talk to Padfoot and Moony if they're there?"

"Sure," Hermione said, and she handed over the mirror to the two men. "Harry wants to fill you in," she explained, and they smiled at looked at the mirror.

While they chatted quietly, not wishing to incur Madame Pince's ire, Hermione returned to the book she had been reading. Idly turning another page, she sighed. Then she sat up straight. Running her finger over the words, she gasped, and leaned over the table. She tapped Sirius on the arm—the only contact they had had since the morning after they had slept together—and he looked up, startled.

"I need to speak to Harry," she whispered loudly, and they broke off their conversation to hand back the mirror. "Harry!" Hermione said. "I've found it! I've just found a potion that will get rid of a horcrux from a _living being_!"

"Bit late for Nagini then, isn't it?" she heard Neville ask, but Harry beamed.

"Brilliant work, Hermione," he said.

"I'll hand you back, now," she told him, "and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Professor Snape, so I can ask him about this," she said, tapping the page. "We'll need his help, I think. We also need to find out if the has the right ingredients."

"All right," Harry grumbled. "See you tomorrow."

Hermione gave back the mirror to Remus, and nodded a goodbye to them, before she left the library to go down to the dungeons.

**

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**

There. I promised you a nice, (reasonably) short chapter. Here it is. Anyone want another by (my) nightfall? Things are getting close to the end, as you can see. In fact, we'll be done sooner than I thought. I might get another story started and finished

_**before**_** London! How about that?**

**Disclaimer: I'm doing this for no money, just like the rest of my writing at the moment. And I shall continue to write fan fiction for nothing, even after I'm a rich and famous writer.**


	17. Dungeons and Dealings

"Dungeons and Dealings"

Hermione ran along countless corridors and a number of staircases to get to the dungeons, desperate to see Professor Snape. She got to his office, only to find that he wasn't there.

"Oh, where _is_ he?" she exclaimed. "Maybe his private stores, or his lab, or… the classroom!" She groaned when she realised that he would have class at the moment, annoyed that she hadn't thought of that when she ran from the library. Well, there was _no way_ that she wasn't going to go to his stores to see if he had the necessary ingredients; not since she stole from there in her second year. There was nothing for it. She would have to wait outside the classroom until the class was finished.

Time seemed to pass slower than molasses through a sieve. She glanced through the rest of the book she had been reading, and continued to read until the bell rang. She watched as the students left—Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs—and once they were gone, she entered the classroom.

"Professor? Professor Snape? Are you hear?" she asked the darkness.

"Where else did you expect me to be, Miss Granger?" he asked, sneaking up behind her. She jumped about ten feet in the air. "The Divination classroom?"

"Very funny, sir," Hermione said through her teeth.

"I trust you have some purpose here, otherwise you wouldn't have come, I'm sure," he said snidely, straightening chairs.

"Maybe I just came to say 'hello', and ask how you were doing?" she suggested.

"A likely story," Severus said, walking up to her very slowly, and towering over her. Hermione gulped.

"Uh, well, actually," she stammered, "that's _not_ why I came here. Not that I don't want to know how you are, because obviously that's important." Severus smirked in amusement. "I actually came to ask you if you had the right ingredients for this," and she showed him the page.

"I see," he said, taking the book from her hands. "And you didn't bother to check my private stores? Like you did in your second year?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Hermione asked, trying to look nonchalant, but not really succeeding.

"Oh please, Miss Granger," he said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "I haven't been a potions master for so many years without recognising the signs of a Polyjuice Potion gone wrong. Do fur and whiskers ring any bells?"

Hermione gulped again.

"Please, Professor," she said. "This is supposed to get rid of a horcrux from a living being, and we'll need it for Harry."

"And I should be helping him _why_?" Severus asked. Hermione glared at him, and he chuckled. "Well, since you asked so nicely," he said. "Come with me."

They went to his stores, and sorted through. As soon as they had ascertained that there were enough of the ingredients, they collected them together and took them through to Severus' private lab.

"Leave them here, and we'll deal with this later," he said. Hermione was barely listening, she was so absorbed in taking in her surroundings. She amused him yet again, as he watched her wandering around; lips parted; wanting, but not daring to touch anything.

"Uh, sorry?" she finally said, turning back.

"Miss Granger, detention for not paying attention," Severus said, and Hermione's eyes widened.

"What?" she exclaimed. He raised his eyebrows, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"You'll meet me here straight after dinner, and help me with a potion," he said, looking at her significantly. She looked at him strangely, then it dawned on her. She looked at the ingredients, and then back at him.

"Oh," she said.

"And they call you the smartest witch of your age," he muttered, and showed her out. "Oh, and Miss Granger?" She looked back at him, and he raised the book. "Well done."

She beamed. "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much!"

* * *

"You're back!"

The shriek echoed throughout the hall. Everyone looked up as Ginny ran down towards the doors. They had just opened to admit Harry, Ron, and Neville. Luna and Hermione followed closely behind, and they embraced the boys.

"Happiness reigns once more," Severus said sarcastically, raising his goblet for a drink.

The boys were annoyed that she had detention after dinner; even after she explained the real purpose, they still weren't appeased.

"We just get back, and already you have to leave," Ron grumbled.

"It's not my fault," Hermione said. "How was I supposed to know that you arrived back tonight? No owl, no patronus, no word at all!"

"Look, just go and get it over with," Harry said. Hermione nodded, and left the common room.

"Poor Hermione," Neville said, and they all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Two hours later, and the potion was brewed. Hermione and Severus both sat back on their stools, wiping their foreheads.

"Well, I must say," Hermione said, "I don't know how you do it, Professor."

"Do what, Miss Granger?" he asked.

"All this," she said, waving around generally, but meaning the potion. "I know that you're always making your own potions, as well as marking homework, along with all your other duties. I just don't know how you manage it."

"Effective time management," Severus said, smirking. "You'd be better at time management if you didn't have those two dunderhead friends of yours to run around after."

"Well, better that I save their lives, surely," Hermione said, also smirking. Severus chuckled. "You know, it's strange to hear your laugh, without it sounding… I don't know."

"Evil?" he suggested. She nodded.

"Now, get this to Potter," Severus said. "The sooner the better."

"Hermione!" They heard Sirius' voice outside the door.

"What does _he_ want now?" she muttered, and Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Problems in your love life?" he asked, and Hermione looked at him, her mouth opening and closing silently. "Don't let him hurt you," he said, just as Sirius' hand was on the door knob. "Otherwise I'll deal with him myself."

"Deal with who?" Sirius asked, entering the room. They both turned to him.

"With you," he said. "If you hurt Hermione," she gasped at the use of her name, "then I _will_ hurt you."

"What, you're not saying you're in…" Sirius began incredulously.

"Not in the least," Severus said. "But she's the only one who seems to care about me, without gender. Just like a true friend."

"Well, I have so many true friends, I just can't help it," Hermione muttered. Sirius looked at her.

"Anyway," he said through clenched teeth, "we've been able to find the translation in one of the books Pansy found. We now know how to destroy the veil."

"Well, _we've_ brewed the potion for Harry, so now I have to take it to him," Hermione said. She picked up the vial, and ran out of the room, brushing past Sirius as she went. They both felt the shot of electricity as their arms met briefly, but Hermione rushed off before Sirius could even register what was happening.

"Is that all, Black?" Severus asked in a bored voice.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'?" Sirius asked, looking at him. Severus sighed.

"Have you gone to see the headmaster yet? About the veil?" he asked.

"No," Sirius said.

"So you thought to tell Hermione first?" Severus said.

"Don't call her that!" Sirius said, frustrated. Severus smirked.

"Of course, Black," he said, and he turned back to start clearing up the work area. Sirius stormed out in a huff, missing Severus' third chuckle that day.

That chuckle was interrupted by Dumbledore's patronus. He requested that he come to the headmaster's office immediately; the question was couched in such a way that it was more an order than a request.

"Coming," he sighed, and he flooed there straight away.

Once everyone was assembled in Dumbledore's office, he sighed, resting his head on his steepled fingers. They all watched him.

"Word has it that the Death Eaters are on their way to the Ministry," he told the, "and I can only suppose that that means…"

"That they've finally decoded the book," Hermione finished.

"Sirius told me that he and Remus have translated it, too," he said. "With much thanks to Miss Parkinson."

"Have the Aurors and the Order been notified?" Minerva asked.

"I only just found out myself," Dumbledore said. The students there looked at each other.

"Luna, go to the Ravenclaws, Neville to the Hufflepuffs, Ginny to the Gryffindors," Hermione instructed. "Gather together everyone from Dumbledore's Army. We'll need them."

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore began.

"No, sir," she said, holding up a hand. "With all respect, they at least are in the building, and we need all the help we can get. We'll succeed better outnumbering them three to one than two to one."

"Logical," Remus said, a smile tweaking the edges of his lips.

"Please, Professor," Hermione said. Dumbledore finally nodded, and Hermione left with everyone else.

They all met in the Entrance Hall minutes later—all the members of the DA, the teachers who were in the Order. Everyone else in the Light would meet them at the Ministry.

"Let's get going," Harry said, just as Hermione jogged up behind them. "Where were you?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later," she said. "Let's go."

**

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**

Ooh, we're getting there, folks! I have enjoyed my time with everyone, and once this story's finished, I shall start work on a new one. I think this time… Hermione and Severus? Yes? No? Do tell me. R&R. Emphasis on the 'R'.

Mwa-ha-ha! I have the next chapter aaaaall written up, and in Document Manager. If you're _very _good, I may post it this evening.


	18. Secrets, Sacrifices, and Surprises

"_Secrets_, Sacrifices, and Surprises"

They were too late. That was everyone's first thought as they reached the Department of Mysteries, and saw the last part of the ceremony come to a close.

"Not again," Ginny said as Lord Voldemort stepped out of the veil.

"Oh yes," he hissed, and there was laughter from the Death Eaters left behind.

"Seven," Severus murmured, counting them. "Someone's missing."

"Someone had to be used for the substitution," Hermione said, referring to the rite as detailed in _Secrets of Deep Magick_. "Sort of a sacrifice."

"That was all?" Ron asked, and he snorted.

"No, _Ronald_," Hermione said. "There were… other elements. Incantations, for example. Certain promises that they would have had to make."

"Never mind the others," Harry said quietly. He stepped forward. "It's time this ended, don't you think?" he asked, starting straight at Voldemort.

"Indeed," he said, and soon there were curses being shot as everyone fought valiantly. As Hermione predicted, the Death Eaters stood no chance outnumbered, and they were soon rounded up. She pulled out the book, and looked at the spell needed to destroy the veil.

"Incantations only," she said, grateful that some potion wasn't necessary. The veil could be destroyed immediately. "Two people. Love… hang on. Love?"

"Hermione! Look out!" Luna cried, and Hermione turned in time to put up a shield charm. She ran to a corner, putting up another shield, and read the book further. "'Two elements to destroy: incantations and love. When two people who love recite the incantations in tandem, the veil shall disappear forever.'"

"What's wrong?" She turned to see Sirius looking at her in between sending hexes. There were only two Death Eaters left, while Harry battled Voldemort unaided.

"I need you to help me!" she called, tapping the page. He nodded and, while his opponent was distracted by a hex from Michael Corner, he stunned the Death Eater, and joined Hermione.

"Recite these lines with me," she said, pointing at the incantation. It was all in Latin.

"Do I have to understand them?" he asked.

"I hope not," Hermione said, and he nodded.

"All right," he said, and they began to chant.

* * *

"Do you really think you can win this?" Harry asked. He was getting a sense of déjà vu, circling once again. He and the Dark Lord had exchanged hexes, neither of them getting hit. "Severus Snape, for example, has always been a spy."

"I'll just keep coming back, you know," Voldemort said, grinning evilly.

"Oh no you won't," Harry said. "All your horcruxes are gone. All except one." He drew out the vial that Hermione had given him, uncorked it, and drank it all down.

"Probably should have done that before you left, mate," Ron said, as Harry started to shake and sweat." Voldemort laughed.

"Always a Gryffindor," he said. "Impulsive to the last."

"You never considered me," Neville suddenly said. "You never considered that the prophecy applied to me, too, did you?"

Voldemort turned to him. "Are you challenging me, Longbottom?"

Not really, the boy thought. Just buying some time for Harry.

"What do you think might happen if I killed you now?" he asked aloud. "After all, I suppose that means that either of us could kill you, and you'd stay dead. Oh yes. I know all about the prophecy."

"I think the question is now: do you think you have a hope of defeating me?'" Lord Voldemort said, and Neville sneered. It was a sneer worthy of Severus, who, at that moment, stepped forward.

"I assure you, Voldemort," he said, and everyone stopped to listen except Harry, who was only just standing, recovered, and Hermione and Sirius, who were almost finished chanting. "Mr. Longbottom is more than capable of beating you."

Suddenly, the veil exploded, and everyone was knocked off their feet. Hermione landed on Sirius, and whispered, "You _do_ love me, don't you?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"Never mind," she said, standing quickly. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, that was… entertaining," Voldemort said. He was on his feet just after Hermione, and he turned to Harry. "Ah. Just as it should be."

"Harry!" Hermione called, and she held out the sword of Gryffindor. "Just think Stefano Dimera!" She flung the sword to him, and he caught it with a Seeker's accuracy.

"He can't come back to life without a head," Harry murmured, remembering. "Of course."

"What, unwilling to use a wand?" Voldemort taunted. By now, everyone, including Harry, was on their feet.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said. Someone—possibly Luna—incarcerated the last Death Eater, which provided Harry with the right distraction.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, and Voldemort flew back. He landed with a loud thump, and a crunch of his bones, as he hit the staircase. Harry ran forward, and with a long swipe, he brought the sword down, and beheaded He-Who-Was-Finally-Dead.

**

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**

Why make this so short? Well, because it was originally at the end of the previous chapter, but I decided that I didn't want a really long chapter seventeen. Also, I wanted to make this story 20 chapters long, so I needed to break it up.

**Hmm…**

**auditmom--I... your review just left me speechless. All I could do was squeal and read it out to Mum. Thank you so much!**


	19. Truths Told

"Truths Told"

Lucius Malfoy was true to his word; he gave evidence against all the Death Eaters except for his son and Severus. Voldemort was eventually dismembered, and completely incinerated with Fiendfyre. The ashes were scattered on the grounds of the Riddle property.

When they returned to Hogwarts, classes were cancelled for three days. Everyone who had fought slept for two of those days. A ball was organised by Dumbledore and the Heads of the Houses. Parents, both magic and non-magic, were invited to attend, which sent everyone into a tizzy, to say the very least.

Hermione knew who she wanted to go to the ball with; she also knew that he would never ask her. Harry was planning to ask Ginny; until they found out that, in the interests of school unity, there would be no pairings.

At least, school unity was the _official_ excuse. It wasn't until Remus and Tonks were talking to Professor Dumbledore in his office later that they were told the real reason.

"You what?" Tonks asked, stunned.

"It's for the best," Dumbledore said, not smiling.

"She's been in love with him since the battle at the Ministry; the _first_ one," Remus told his fiancé.

"Honestly, we come here to ask you to officiate our wedding, and we're told _this_?" Tonks said. "And poor Hermione." She sighed.

"This way, no one's heart has to be broken," Dumbledore said. "It's such a concern when the wrong people are in love."

"They're not _wrong_, they're just… not exactly right," Remus said. "I don't know how Sirius feels about Hermione, but she's desperately in love with him."

"I never thought I'd hear you say 'desperately in love' about _anyone_," Tonks admitted, grinning.

"Yes, well," he said. "What I mean is that there's the age difference…"

"Looks who's talking," Tonks muttered.

"…and their personalities," he continued. "He's always been a womaniser, and too immature for his age. She's a bookworm, who's got no confidence."

"Opposites attract, in other words," she said. Remus nodded.

"Well, I agree," Dumbledore said. "Which is why there will be no coupling. Everyone can dance with everybody else."

"It's a good idea," Remus said, tapping his chin. "Better make sure that the whole school knows before anyone tries to pair up."

"I'll announce it at dinner," Dumbledore said.

* * *

The noise dissipated as the headmaster stood up. He had to hold his hands up to ask for quiet, because everyone was still abuzz about the upcoming dance. Once they were settled down, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I have news about the ball," he said. "In the interests of house unity, there will be no pairing." There were numerous gasps and a lot of chatter, before they quietened down again. "Obviously, you'll be dancing together. This is also because families will be coming, and people from the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. We don't want anyone to feel left out, do we? Thank you." He sat down again, and continued to eat his meal as though nothing untoward had happened.

Well, that solves one problem, Sirius thought, watching Hermione to see her reaction. He saw her hang her head and fiddle with her goblet. She turned her head slightly, and looked him in the eyes. She quickly averted her gaze, and something tickled the back of his mind. Something about the spell to destroy the veil. Wasn't there something in there about…?

He stood as soon as he downed the rest of his drink, and made for the library.

* * *

Madame Pince had happily taken over the rest of the books from Sleeky's apartment that Hogwarts didn't have. Now that the page of the book had been translated, all it took was to find the translation, and he had an idea that it was still tucked into the book. It had been Remus who had written it down as Sirius helped him with the decoding.

"Where is it?" he murmured. Sure enough, tucked in between the pages was the sheet of parchment. He read what Hermione had written, and his throat constricted.

"Sirius…" Hermione said, as she came up behind him. She had been hoping to finish the translation. Sirius turned at his name, and she saw that he had the book open and had been reading the page. She lost the will to speak, realising that he must have read that it had to be true love to destroy the veil. What must he think of her?

"Hermione," he said, and she began backing up. "Hermione, wait."

But she was so unnerved that she just ran from the library, ignoring Sirius' voice as he called to her.

Put the book down and run, he thought. Replacing the parchment and closing the book carefully, he put it back on the shelf, turned, and sprinted out the doors. Using a Tracking Spell, Sirius followed her. He had longer legs, and soon caught up.

"Wait, please," he said, panting a little as Hermione stopped and faced him.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," she said, tears running down her cheeks as she slowed her breathing as well.

"No; no, Hermione," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you. I'm sorry for everything I've said and done that you've ever hated. I'd do anything to keep you by my side forever, if I only could. Trouble is," he said, punctuating it with a bark of laughter, "I'm not good enough for you."

Hermione's tears had stopped, and she felt calmer now. She sniffed before replying.

"How long do you think I've waited to hear you say something like that?" she asked, cocking her head slightly. "How long?"

"Too long," Sirius said. "Too long."

She nodded, turned, and began to walk away from him again. "You're right about that," he heard her say. She rounded a corner and was gone.

"I _will_ get you back," Sirius said. "I _will_ keep you."

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Next chapter will be the last one. It's very epilogue-ic. In fact, I'm considering calling it _**An Epilogue-ic Ending**_**. What do you think? We need this story to have a happy ending. Gotta be in keeping with my title alliteration, though.**

**Oh, and fans of my writing will be pleased to hear (read) that I've got another story in the works… the works in my mind, at any rate.**

**Who else loves **_**Beauty and the Geek: Australia**_**? Anyone?**


	20. An Epilogueic Ending

"An Epilogue-ic Ending"

"I'm pleased to announce the changes that will be taking place for the new school year," Professor Albus Dumbledore said to a hushed school. "It will be to everybody's benefits I'm sure."

It was breakfast time on the last day of the school year. Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and everyone else in their year had graduated the night before. It was their last time together, their last school meal together, before they were setting out into the big, wide world.

Hermione had spoken to Pansy. She was going on a year-long trip around the world with Lucius and Narcissa. Because he had given evidence so willingly, Lucius' Azkaban sentence was greatly reduced, and they were celebrating by seeing all they could see of the outside world, both wizarding and Muggle.

Pansy would then be taken on as an employee of Remus and Tonks, who had set up a bookshop not long after the battle, using the rest of Sleeky Constant's books. Because of her growing fondness for books, Pansy would be collecting some abroad for them, and had high hopes of one day entering a partnership with the couple. The night of the dance, Remus and Tonks were married by Dumbledore.

Ron was planning to write to Luna as soon as he started Auror training with Harry, and there were hopes of a relationship between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw. Harry, on the other hand, had every intention of keeping up a correspondence with Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley was already preparing for a wedding as soon as Ginny graduated.

As for Sirius and Hermione, well…

"First of all, I would like to announce that Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood have decided to collaborate on a book about the second war that was won less than two years ago," Dumbledore said. No one except he, Colin Creevey, and the two girls had known about this. Well, unofficially Tonks and Remus knew, as they would be the first to sell the book once it was published. "They are looking for input from as many people as possible. Colin Creevey will be providing photographs, but drawings are appreciated as well." There was a round of applause. Many people were amazed; though the most amazing aspect of it was that it had managed to stay a secret for so long.

"As for staffing announcements," Dumbledore continued. "I have decided to resign as Headmaster of Hogwarts." The reaction was huge, and it took several minutes to die down long enough so that Dumbledore could continue. "I have bought a place in Hogsmeade, and encourage you all to visit during your Hogsmeade weekends." He chuckled. "In fact, I've bought the Shrieking Shack." There was laughter at this announcement.

"In my place, I have elected Minerva McGonagall." Minerva had tears in her eyes as she stood up and hugged Dumbledore. "Naturally, that leaves us in need of a new Transfiguration teacher. I must say, it's a nice change to have had the same Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year, isn't it?" There was more noise as this remark. Severus was still DADA teacher, and he was a lot more good-tempered nowadays. Also, due to the reduced exposure to constant potion-making going on around him, his hair had been a lot better, and there plans in the making to set him up with someone. Needless to say, he didn't yet know about the pending matchmaking.

"So, I have decided to take on Sirius Black as Transfiguration teacher," Dumbledore said, and there were cheers from the Gryffindor table at that. "As Minerva shall be head of the school, he will also be taking over as Head of Gryffindor House." More cheers at that, and there were those who were amused by the fact that now Severus Snape and Sirius Black would be opposed again.

"One more thing," Dumbledore said, and everyone was silent, waiting. "Hogwarts will have two new apprentices starting next year. Neville Longbottom will be taking on an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout in Herbology," there were cheers, and Neville received many pats on the back in congratulations, "and Hermione Granger will be apprenticing with Sirius Black in Transfiguration."

As Hermione sat there, open-mouthed and dumb-struck, Sirius smirked. Part one of his plan to make her his was complete. As for the rest… well, it wouldn't take very long now, would it? He had been her first, and intended to be around up until the very last as well.

"Remember," Severus muttered to him over the din, as Sirius' new apprentice just stared at her new master, "you hurt her, you'll have me to deal with."

"Right-o, Severus," Sirius said. While Severus recovered from the shock of Sirius using his first name, Dumbledore sat down, his usual merry twinkle in his eyes, pleased that everything had worked out for the best.

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Aw! I did all of this for free; made no money whatsoever. I've probably lost weight from forgetting to snack while writing all of this. Thank you all for your kind words and faithful following. Let me know if you want a sequel, but I can't guarantee that it'll be any good.

**Posting this chapter is partly in celebration. I did my uni exam today... and that's the end of my second year! Only one more year of uni to go and I'm _free_!**

**So, I'll see you in my next story, shall I?**


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